EU Inquiry Finds No Evidence Apple Colluded With Record Labels to End Freemium Music

[wigby]

Apple maps on par with google maps.... Thanks for the laughs! Seriously use both sometime, and not just your street.

In the U.S. I would say Apple Maps is better than Google maps for any turn by turn driving directions. Google Maps has better location based search so I always use that when I know the name but not the address. And as far as public transportation, Google has a built in solution but that will all change in about a month.

It's easy to criticize things like Apple Maps, Music and iCloud but most people don't bother to read past the headlines and really use and compare their strengths and weaknesses. But in the end it doesn't matter because the results are completely dependent upon where you live and the routes you take.

 

[JAT]

Apple maps on par with google maps.... Thanks for the laughs! Seriously use both sometime, and not just your street.

I use both, and TomTom, regularly. For work, for which I get paid, giving me a vested interest in accuracy and usability.

They are very similar, now. Apple has a much better driving interface, so I tend to use it. I generally find if one of them is wrong trying to find an address, so is the other. Happened just the other night. Google does have a better POI ability, but most of the POIs I want I find from their own websites or apps, so I use neither for that.

 

[JAT]

Apple Music, unlike Spotify, does not offer a free listening tier.

Am I doing something wrong? I keep reading this, but all I have to do is open the Apple Music app, pick a genre, artist, or song, and it plays music. Which I can hear. For zero money. I am not signed up for Apple Music. I take it this activity does not "count" towards the world's view of "free" somehow?

 

[JAT]

most useful feature of Google Maps that Apple Maps is lacking is the routing optimization feature which shows me alternate routes which may be faster, or slower.

It does that when routing. Now, Google does it when showing turn-by-turn, too, so it is more advanced. But Apple does not lack this feature, I use it constantly.

 

[MH01]

In the U.S. I would say Apple Maps is better than Google maps for any turn by turn driving directions. Google Maps has better location based search so I always use that when I know the name but not the address. And as far as public transportation, Google has a built in solution but that will all change in about a month.

It's easy to criticize things like Apple Maps, Music and iCloud but most people don't bother to read past the headlines and really use and compare their strengths and weaknesses. But in the end it doesn't matter because the results are completely dependent upon where you live and the routes you take.

There lies the problem, I am not in the US, and Apple maps in my opinion has a long way to come.

 

[MH01]

I use both, and TomTom, regularly. For work, for which I get paid, giving me a vested interest in accuracy and usability.

They are very similar, now. Apple has a much better driving interface, so I tend to use it. I generally find if one of them is wrong trying to find an address, so is the other. Happened just the other night. Google does have a better POI ability, but most of the POIs I want I find from their own websites or apps, so I use neither for that.

As I replied to another poster, I should have stated I am not in the US. Apple maps globally, is not on par with google maps. Maybe one day. Though with me its a trust thing, it was sooooo bad when it was launched, it will take a while for it to be my go to app.

 

[AlecZ]

Where exactly is the irony?

He's spreading false rumors about Spotify spreading false rumors.

 

[macfacts]

"The European Commission has failed to find evidence that Apple conspired.."
But they did find plenty of evidence that Spotify payed litteraly millions of dollars to hire expensive lobbyists in Washington for the purpose of starting an investigation against Apple.

"Spotify’s lobbyists have quietly made the rounds in D.C., whispering to lawmakers for months that Apple’s new music offering threatens to stifle its competitors, according to sources familiar with the discussions. The apparent goal has been to raise antitrust suspicions about the iPhone giant, which faced a previous government lawsuit over its pricing of e-books."

Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/...t-apple-in-congress-119976.html#ixzz3iD8TPhrc"

The link you provide says Apple spent $1.2 Million on lobbying in the first quarter of this year. It doesn't say anything about how much Spotify spent so your claim has no value in this discussion.

 

[attila]

Apple has a subscription model and is luring artists and labels by offering a lot more than playing songs, it has exclusives, own created content, its radio station, a pretty good social network.

In effect Apple appeals to an artist offering more ways to get their content to fans and offers labels more ways to get their clients product to customers.

That's assuming the consumers want these features...

 

[Firelock]

There lies the problem, I am not in the US, and Apple maps in my opinion has a long way to come.

I am in the U.S. and live in Dallas, a fairly major city. I tried to use Apple Maps as my default map app but I have been steered wrong by it too many times. I have now banished it from my home screen, buried in a folder, so I will not accidentally launch it instead of Google Maps. Just a few months ago I tried using Apple Maps to get directions to a car dealership in a suburb. Apple Maps mistook the name of a freeway I30 for another, I20. When I finally got near the dealership (navigating on my own) Apple Maps kept directing me to every street but the one that would take me there. I finally pulled over, opened Google Maps, and input the dealer address, and got there in a few minutes. If this was an isolated incident I wouldn't have minded too much, but it wasn't. It was just the last straw with Apple Maps.

Google Maps isn't perfect, but I would say that Google might give me a problematic route one in 10 times, if that. While Apple Maps is closer to one in four or more. YMMV, but that has been my experience.

 

[Daalseth]

Am I doing something wrong? I keep reading this, but all I have to do is open the Apple Music app, pick a genre, artist, or song, and it plays music. Which I can hear. For zero money. I am not signed up for Apple Music. I take it this activity does not "count" towards the world's view of "free" somehow?

Interesting, you must be doing something right. Here it demands you join AppleMusic to hear anything but BBC World Service.

 

[HenryDJP]

He's spreading false rumors about Spotify spreading false rumors.

Ah I see. I didn't know. I thought it was true what he said about Spotify. I should've done some research on his post first. Okay.

 

[AdonisSMU]

"Free ad-supported service". A contradiction in itself. Ad-supported services are not free. People just don't realize they are paying for them, so they appear to be free.

In fact, I am paying for these services without even using them, so the quicker they are killed off, the better.

We just end up paying higher prices for every thing else to pay for the running ads. It obfuscates the fact that people are paying it in the prices of the goods and services the advertiser is selling. If you aren't using those goods and services or the companies you shop with aren't using those goods and services then GREAT! The ads only cost you a bit of time and no additional money at all.

 

[AdonisSMU]

I dont know whether Apple maps issue is as simple as you say. Apple maps from my view is a much better program, smoother, easier to use, better looking. However in my country its core mapping (basically place names and points of interest) is not as good as Google, and there is no public transport data in Apple (in Japan, that's a huge issue as almost everyone uses trains to get around). If the core mapping was good enough in Apple, I would abandon google maps instantly as Apple maps is a better program. So I'm sure the people using Apple maps aren't just doing it because of the power of default. Maybe it works for them.

Good point. I used to live in Japan. I really liked it there and yes people do take transportation everywhere especially where I was at in Tokyo.

 

[Keirasplace]

Ah I see. I didn't know. I thought it was true what he said about Spotify. I should've done some research on his post first. Okay.

False rumors? Rumors can only be determined false after the fact, so that whole thing sentence doesn't makes any sense.

That the person claiming irony reported the rumor "false" says more about the person's bias than anything else: we just don't know, except there was a rumor claiming they lobbied to the FCC and EU.

This last thing is a rumor but within the realm of logic and could be supported by facts eventually; this would be one of their line of defense against Apple eventually hitting them hard. They'd be foolish to not at least try to tact; which is why I expect the rumor to turn up to be confirmed eventually.

 

[patent10021]

I heard in another case that the EU found evidence Apple colluded with Dre and Lovine to create garbage.

 

[OTACORB]

I heard in another case that the EU found evidence Apple colluded with Dre and Lovine to create garbage.

Geez, what took them so long. These investigators must not be too bright! LOL

 

[Keirasplace]

I heard in another case that the EU found evidence Apple colluded with Dre and Lovine to create garbage.

And then they paid you do post this here... Man, they sure get around!

 

[HenryDJP]

I'm glad this news article came about. It gets very frustrating here each time a negative rumor comes out about Apple. The usual knee-jerk trolling against Apple starts as if it's automatically true. It's enough these same people act like Apple is some tyrant that is out burn the entire world. It's simply a tech company. Lighten up.

 

[CFreymarc]

Success breeds envy. Especially from those on public discussion boards like this.

 

[ksuyen]

Apple maps on par with google maps.... Thanks for the laughs! Seriously use both sometime, and not just your street.

Thanks for the laughs too, I agree Apple maps is not on par with google maps Apple map is much SUPERIOR than google maps. You should try them both NOW, not just based on your past experiences.

 

[ksuyen]

Success breeds envy. Especially from those on public discussion boards like this.

You can not negotiate with people who say what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable.

 

[CFreymarc]

You can not negotiate with people who say what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable.

The Marines handles those types.

 

[bking10]

Spotify have been lobbying hard, hoping a repeat of the ebook case. The thing is, no amount of government involvement will be able to stop the growth Apple Music will gain at their expense. Although spotify won't say which platform most of their paying users are on, it's easy for anyone to tell. You simply have to compare the two main platforms when it comes to paid apps. iOS holds a 70/30 split for paid apps vs android for paid apps. With that in mind, one can more or less conclude most of spotify paying customers are for the most part, Apple customers.

If that is the case, then spotify is in a much different position then I though just a few months ago. If we learned anything from the Apple maps fiasco is that, as bad as that launch was, it was bad. Some 2+ years later, over 75% of iOS users are using Apple maps over the much better Google provided maps apps. This is happening for one simple reason, "power of the default." If this can happen to a much better product (Google maps), I can confidently say Apple will be able to convert a lot of spotify paying users on their platform.

With competition like this from Apple and all the bad music label contracts, I don't see how spotify can ever hope to be profitable. Unless of course a facebook or someone else with deep pocket come to the rescue.

Apple Music's terrible interface will do that for Spotify. Apple has already thrown billions of dollars at Apple Music. It will be a while before they are profitable too

 

[MH01]

Thanks for the laughs too, I agree Apple maps is not on par with google maps Apple map is much SUPERIOR than google maps. You should try them both NOW, not just based on your past experiences.

I live in London, Google is way way ahead. You live?