What app-store advocacy group did Spotify help found in September 2020?

Spotify helped found the Coalition for App Fairness in September 2020. The group brought together app companies challenging the business terms and distribution rules imposed by major mobile app stores.

The coalition was established on 24 September 2020, with Epic Games, Spotify, Match Group, ProtonMail, and other companies among its prominent participants. Its campaign focused especially on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, including their commissions, payment restrictions, and limits on alternative app distribution.

Spotify’s involvement grew out of its long-running dispute with Apple over App Store fees and rules. That history is why the coalition is sometimes confused with Spotify’s separate European antitrust complaints or with the Open Markets Institute, which is an independent competition-policy organization. Digital Content Next and the App Developers Alliance are also different industry groups.

The coalition’s name is the canonical answer: “Coalition for App Fairness.” Its purpose was broader than Spotify’s individual conflict, representing a collective push for more choice and less dependence on platform-controlled app stores.