Spotify and Apple Music are both fighting for supremacy in the music streaming business. And as Apple Music grows stronger, Spotify has been making it harder to find music from artists who debuted their new albums on its rival.
Spotify doesn't feature those artists in its popular playlists and buries their songs in its search engine, Bloomberg reports. Spotify said it does not alter its search results.
Artists who debut on Tidal, the streaming service run by Jay-Z, are similarly punished, Bloomberg reports.
If that's true, it's bad news for artists like Frank Ocean (above), Drake and Chance the Rapper, who all dropped their albums on Apple Music first.
Spotify is still the clear leader in music streaming services with 30 million subscribers worldwide. Apple has about half that, but is only a year old.
This isn't the first volley in the war between platforms. Spotify claimed Apple blocked an update to its iOS app in June.
Literally no one wins in this Spotify vs Apple Music "war." I just want to pay someone $10 a month and listen to whatever music I want.
— Eli Hodapp 📱🕹👍🏼 (@hodapp) August 26, 2016
Some users weren't happy with the companies clashing.