Apple defends removing Musi from the App Store, as fans boycott new iPhones

The legal battle over the free music streaming app Musi continues, with Apple defending its decision to remove it from the App Store ahead of a court case set to determine its fate …

Musi

Musi is a free music streaming app which pulls in music from YouTube.

The app proved a big hint with teens in particular, as it provided completely free music streams without the audio ad interruptions you get on Spotify’s free tier. You just listen to one set of ads when opening the app, and can listen uninterrupted afterwards.

The legal battle

YouTube argues that Musi violates its terms of services by accessing its music without a license. Musi disagrees, saying it is no different to a web browser.

That dispute is more complicated than it sounds, when even legal experts unable to agree which company has the law on its side.

However, YouTube complained to Apple and the Cupertino company removed Musi from the App Store pending the outcome of a court case due to be heard in January. Musi objected, arguing that Apple should wait for a ruling, and suggesting it could be forced out of business before the case comes before a judge.

Arstechnica reports that Apple is unmoved by this argument.

“Musi provides no evidence relating to its financial condition and no evidence that it is unable to survive until a decision on the merits in this case.”

According to Apple, Musi is not being transparent about its finances, but public reporting showed the app “earned more than $100 million in advertising revenue between January 2023 and spring 2024 and employs 10 people at most.”

Apple says it doesn’t take sides in these cases, but has to remove apps initially to ensure it doesn’t get dragged into court itself.

Musi users vow not to upgrade iPhone

Existing users can continue to use the app already installed on their iPhones, but if they buy a new iPhone they would be unable to reinstall it. Ars notes that users on Reddit are vowing not to upgrade their phone while this remains the case.

For Musi fans expressing their suffering on Reddit, Musi appears to be irreplaceable […] One Musi user also noted that Musi allows for an unlimited number of videos in a playlist, where YouTube caps playlists at 5,000 videos.

“Musi is the only playback system I have to play all 9k of my videos/songs in the same library,” the Musi fan said. “I honestly don’t just use Musi just cause it’s free. It has features no other app has, especially if you like to watch music videos while you listen to music.”

Image: Apple/Musi