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That is exactly Spotify's position, they feel entitled to not have to pay the usual commission fee which other makers must pay for using the app store.

Spotify could make better use of its time by focusing on providing a premium service that’s actually worth $9.99.
 
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Yeah maybe the EU commission could say the same thing to Apple: just take your business elsewhere.
What would Apple say to that I wonder?
Well it woul be a silly request, on both sides....

As I was pointing out, it is a silly answer.
 
Then sue Amazon for unfair Prime Member music benefits. Bundling and echo systems are an advantage. Spotify, compete or or away.
 
Because Google allows Spotify to put a subscribe button in the app and allows Spotify to handle their own payments, they also allow verbage that let's Spotify advertise their service as they please in their Google app store description, Apple does not.

If anyone with an iPhone wants to get a Spotify subscription not using apples payment system, they can through Spotify, most iPhone users don’t.

If you want to use apples app Store account for a subscription, apple will take a cut, 30% the first year, 15% each year after that. Just like on android.

No subscription, no fee on the App Store.

If they don’t want to pay the fee they shouldn’t be on the App Store.


Because by you don’t need to go through Google Play Store? You can have a Spotify Store?

You can’t have a Spotify account and subscribe through Spotify’s website?
 
Yes, using a disability as part of an insult is derogatory. In the UK that can actually be reported.. no snowflake about it.

Haha
Wow, disability talk :)
Nevermind then, I guess whatever I say, no no no, shhhh, sorry, comments not allowed.
Did you know that time also melts snowflakes? :)

And your still wrong,
(My what is wrong? No, you are wrong, at least your basic spelling is :) )

last time I checked people using Spotify in the UK don’t sign into their Canadian accounts, and as I don’t live in Canada and use a Canadian account then I was right with my point, as so could you be.

(Thank you for warning me about UK’s big brother and that I may be in trouble, using sarcasm in UK (a home land for an English language sarcasm):)
And as I do not live in UK, which proves you wrong again :)
I use my Canadian account while in Canada. Now using my wife’s account, while in here, at home, still having these ads (just in different language) maybe I shall do a recording for you. Might be easier to understand, if your Japanese is not too rusty.

You forgot to mention that your argument was based on Canadian laws and regulations, those things apps and advertising have to abide by and which differ country to country...
(are they, really? So which of the countries have, by law, a free tier of Spotify, with no ads in them. Please, full list)

next time you make a point you should remember to add that fact into your post, makes it easier to understand where your coming from then ;)
(You mean facts, like that I get ads after a few songs, telling me subscribe on Spotify.com?
Sorry, tried that a few time, didn’t seem to work)
 
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That is exactly Spotify's position, they feel entitled to not have to pay the usual commission fee which other makers must pay for using the app store.

That is exactly NOT Spotifiy's position. Spotify wants to be treated no better and no worse than another maker like Uber that distributes their app through the store for free and handles all financial transactions themselves. The distinction is one drawn by Apple; digital purchases (books, music, games, etc.) are required to go through Apple's in-app purchase method while other purchases (ride shares, cabin/condo rentals, etc.) are not. App makers can do subscriptions outside the app but they can't link to an external account signup or even tell users it is available. It is no coincidence that the digital purchases are also a market where Apple is competing directly with the app makers.

I can see the EU holding Apple's requirement all digital purchases go through Apple's payment system to be an anti-competitive advantage and make Apple allow developers who are able to handle their own transactions to do so and be treated no differently than an app developer like Uber.
 
Honestly I have no issue myse;f with companies like Spotify having to pay a fee for using the App store.
Now, whether 30% is the right fee for a subcription service that's another issue.
Personally that seems wrong to me.
Yes, for a simgle 1 off purchase then, ok, I could just about be ok with 30%, ideally a little less, but hey.
But I don't feel 30% is acceptable for subscription payments as that's long term on-going.
If it was 25% 1st payment (like when you buy an app) then 5% for long term subscription payements, then I'd feel that as resonable.
You got your money for the purchase at the start, but it seems wrong to want to take the same cut just for the follow up payments.

However, all that aside, what I di feel is wrong, is, then limiting how you can use Spotify on Apple products if you don't buy vie the app store. That smacks of doing something just out of spite, and is working against the benefit of Apple consumers in general.

Just my 2 cents anyway :)

How are so many people uninformed about what Spotify pays? Like everyone else, Spotify only pays 15% on any subscription that lasts a year or longer.
 
The most disappointing part of all this is how little effort Apple puts into competing with Spotify by improving the Apple Music application. It's miles behind Spotify in a lot of areas.
 
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If anyone with an iPhone wants to get a Spotify subscription not using apples payment system, they can through Spotify, most iPhone users don’t.

If they don’t want to pay the fee they shouldn’t be on the App Store.

I'm sure they would if it was as easy as hitting a subscribe button inside the app and going to Spotify's payment method but it's not that easy since you'd have to sign up thru the website then log into the app, most people are going to take the easy route and just do it the Apple way.
If Apple doesn't want to play by the EU laws, they don't have to sell in the EU. See how that works? Debate aside, we'll see how this plays out and I'm honestly hoping Apple loses.
 
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Finally someone who understands the ACTUAL problem. The problem isn’t Apple charging some fees for their service (in app purchases), the problem is that Apple FORCES DEVELOPERS TO USE IN APP PURCHASES. Their guidelines forbid developers from even LINKING to an webpage that has payment in it. Me as a developer can’t put a button linking to an online subscription page. Netflix can’t put a link, Spotify can’t put a link, no developer can put a link.

Let's consider what would happen if Apple allowed a "purchase" link, as you suggest.

I would expect that *vast majority* of apps would, very quickly, do this. It's a fairly simple thing to launch Safari from an app. And it's not that much harder to jump back into the app after successful purchase. So, just saying "Apple should just allow developers to put in a 'purchase' link" is kind of silly. Apple would be cutting their app-store revenues down to a fraction of what they are now. There's no way they're going to intentionally throw away all that money.
 
Let's consider what would happen if Apple allowed a "purchase" link, as you suggest.

I would expect that *vast majority* of apps would, very quickly, do this. It's a fairly simple thing to launch Safari from an app. And it's not that much harder to jump back into the app after successful purchase. So, just saying "Apple should just allow developers to put in a 'purchase' link" is kind of silly. Apple would be cutting their app-store revenues down to a fraction of what they are now. There's no way they're going to intentionally throw away all that money.

Probably so, just like users of apps like Uber, Airbnb, Travelocity, and any other providers that don't sell digital items are able to do. And that is why Apple is likely to lose in the EU. Apple is treating a particular set of content providers more restrictively, and it happens that Apple is competing against them as well. That's one good thing about the EU, you don't have to be a monopoly before they can do something, they only have to find you are engaging in activities that harm competition.
 
Spotify is deceiving the pubic and most of those sympathetic to them have fallen for their deception

#1- Spotify was only too happy to take advantage of the App store and grow to be the biggest music streaming business IN THE WORLD, by far.

  • Spotify dwarfs Apple Music and just hit 100 MILLION paid subscribers and 217 MILLION TOTAL
  • Now that they are #1 in the world, after using the App Store to become #1 (The App Store has downloaded over 300 Million downloads of Spotify!), Spotify wants Apple to continue to spend billions maintaining the App store platform and bringing Spotify access to over a billion customers but pay nothing!
#2- ONLY A TINY FRACTION of Spotify's subscriptions fall under Apple’s revenue-sharing model. Spotify is asking for that number to be zero.

  • The majority of Spotify's customers use their free, ad-supported product, which makes no contribution to the App Store, yet Spotify gets all the benefit!
  • The tiny fraction of Spotify's subscriptions where Spotify has to pay the App store a cut are primarily 15%, not 30%, since the 30% is just for the first year.

*Spread the Truth*
 
There are several rappers (not sure about other genres, though I listen to their music I don't follow those artist) who own their Masters.
Master P with No Limit Records and Baby and Slim from Cash Money Records, here's a clip from the article in XXL

"It was a cold spring day in New York City. Brothers Bryan “Baby” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams were keeping warm in Universal President Mel Lewinter’s office in Midtown Manhattan, signing a historic publishing and distribution deal for their homegrown New Orleans label, Cash Money Records. Estimated at the time to be worth $30 million (“It ended up being worth more,” insists Baby), the unprecedented three-year deal allowed the entrepreneurs to retain full ownership of their masters and publishing. “I refused to give them anything,” says Baby, who was 27 at the time. “I can’t let nobody take nothing we work for. If they get something, it’s gonna have to be something we accomplish together.” Under the deal, Universal would give Baby and Slim a $2 million advance every year, plus a credit of $1.5 million for each of the up to six artists they’d be able to put out annually. After the sales came in, they would divide the profits: Universal would get 20% for their services, and Cash Money would bring a whopping 80% back home."

Fair enough...although clearly those two guys (who I have never heard of to be honest) had a lot of weight to throw around if the deal is incorporating those numbers. For the average artist/band, you simply don't have that kind of leverage against the labels. Still interesting though...
 
Spotify is deceiving the pubic and most of those sympathetic to them have fallen for their deception

#1- Spotify was only too happy to take advantage of the App store and grow to be the biggest music streaming business IN THE WORLD, by far.

  • Spotify dwarfs Apple Music and just hit 100 MILLION paid subscribers and 217 MILLION TOTAL
  • Now that they are #1 in the world, after using the App Store to become #1 (The App Store has downloaded over 300 Million downloads of Spotify!), Spotify wants Apple to continue to spend billions maintaining the App store platform and bringing Spotify over a billion customers but pay nothing!
#2- ONLY A TINY FRACTION of Spotify's subscriptions fall under Apple’s revenue-sharing model. Spotify is asking for that number to be zero.

  • The majority of Spotify's customers use their free, ad-supported product, which makes no contribution to the App Store, yet Spotify gets all the benefit!
  • The tiny fraction of Spotify's subscriptions where Spotify has to pay the App store a cut are primarily 15%, not 30%, since the 30% is just for the first year.

*Spread the Truth*

deceiving the pubic indeed :p
 
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Spotify is deceiving the pubic and most of those sympathetic to them have fallen for their deception

#1- Spotify was only too happy to take advantage of the App store and grow to be the biggest music streaming business IN THE WORLD, by far.

  • Spotify dwarfs Apple Music and just hit 100 MILLION paid subscribers and 217 MILLION TOTAL
  • Now that they are i#1 in the world, after using the App Store to become #1 (The App Store has downloaded over 300 Million downloads of Spotify!), Spotify wants Apple to continue to spend billions maintaining the App store platform and bringing Spotify over a billion customers but pay nothing!

#2- ONLY A TINY FRACTION of Spotify's subscriptions fall under Apple’s revenue-sharing model. Spotify is asking for that number to be zero.

  • The majority of Spotify's customers use their free, ad-supported product, which makes no contribution to the App Store, yet Spotify gets all the benefit!

*Spread the Truth*

Please explain the differences between Spotify and Uber as far as the app store goes.

Apple gets absolutely nothing from Uber's app distribution or the services sold within their app either. Uber revenue for 2018 was $11 Billion. If you assume users of the iOS app accounted for half the revenue that would mean Uber generated $5.5 Billion through Apple users. That is going to absolutely dwarf the sales Spotify had through its iOS app, yet Apple is perfectly content to allow Uber to do so without paying a dime.
 
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I'm sure they would if it was as easy as hitting a subscribe button inside the app and going to Spotify's payment method but it's not that easy since you'd have to sign up thru the website then log into the app, most people are going to take the easy route and just do it the Apple way.

Hitting a subscribe button in the app
Store costs 30% the first year and 15% after that, just like on android.

Of course people would rather do it the apple way. Apple takes a cut for making everything easier for both the app developer and the user.

If Spotify doesn’t want to charge anything, apple isn’t going to charge them a fee.

If Apple doesn't want to play by the EU laws, they don't have to sell in the EU. See how that works?.

Your completely right apple, should stop app subscriptions in Europe.
I’m sure all the other European users and app developers would be more than upset with Spotify. See how that works.

Pretty sure Spotify doesn’t want that.

I'm honestly hoping Apple loses.

No surprises there.
Some people hate apple, yet still claim to buy apple products.
Never really understood that.
 
Right, not paying 30% for nothing is now considered greedy. Are you a greedy person? I'll be glad to send you my bank details so you can put your money where your mouth is.

Sorry, but their argument, and yours, is the absolute worst.

You know all those gift cards in physical stores, often that can be had for less than the face value?

Yeah... they pay Blackhawk Networks 20% of the loaded value to sell those. Are they next? Or does Spotify’s business model just suck? They can’t afford to offer the free tier, that’s their problem. Not because they have to pay Apple 15%.
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Please explain the differences between Spotify and Uber as far as the app store goes.

Apple gets absolutely nothing from Uber's app distribution or the services sold within their app either. Uber revenue for 2018 was $11 Billion. If you assume users of the iOS app accounted for half the revenue that would mean Uber generated $5.5 Billion through Apple users. That is going to absolutely dwarf the sales Spotify had through its iOS app, yet Apple is perfectly content to allow Uber to do so without paying a dime.

The difference is Apple is processing the sale and payment of the monthly recurring charge at their cost with their Merchant Services account. They’re the ones selling the subscription, collecting the payment, and paying the transaction fee to the payment network.

Uber and Lyft are charging for a service rendered in their own app, with their own Merchant Services account. Uber and Lyft are the ones selling the service, collecting the payment, and paying the transaction fee to the network.
 
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I think you have been out in the Aussie sun a little too long my friend! Do you think, when you walk into a supermarket and see "brand name" products there, that the brands get 100% of the price charged? Of course not, the "retailer" makes a profit because they have invested heavily in infrastructure and building up a customer base which the brand benefits from in exchange for giving the retailer a profit...basic economics...

Now, in terms of Spotify (the "brand name") not being able to compete with Apple (the supermarket "own brand" products) on price...again this is nothing new! Here in the UK you often see a supermarket's "own brand" versions of "brand name" products on sale right alongside, and usually significantly cheaper as well. Those that by the "brand name" do so because they feel it is a better product or because of customer loyalty.

In the Spotify/Apple scenario, Spotify wants to not pay anything to the "retailer" (Apple/iOS App Store) for all of the infrastructure they have developed and the inherent costs (however small they may be) of hosting and fulfilling the downloads, let alone the costs associated with actual payment processing if the monthly subscription is billed through the App Store. They then cite it as anti-competitive behaviour which is just ludicrous! So if Apple decides to price Apple Music at $4.99 per month will Spotify then demand $5 per month per user from Apple because it's "uncompetitive" for Apple to offer a similar product at a cheaper price? Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? But how is that different from exactly what they are proposing now?

Spotify are completely at liberty to price their product/service however they choose, and equally Apple, as a retailer, is completely at liberty to set their own "mark up" on third-party products that they sell on their own store. I would understand the anti-competitive narrative if Apple routinely charged 10% but were charging direct competitors 30%...but that's not what is happening. All apps on the App Store are subject to the same T&C's. Basically, Spotify want all of the benefits of the App Store and the Apple platform but don't want to pay for the privilege of being "stocked" at the App Store.

Not being on the App Store doesn't mean that they can't sell subscriptions. They routinely sell them on their website in fact. But it seems like they want access to all of the Apple customers but don't want to pay for it! Apple has invested billions of dollars in R&D and marketing over the last decade to build its iOS platform into what it is today with the huge user-base that it has. Spotify seems to feel entitled to have access to those customers for free just because Apple creates a competing product. Spotify could just leave the price at $9.99 in the App Store and accept that 30% as a cost of doing business in the same way that most B2C companies have "cost of sale" considerations.

Look at it this way, if they didn't have their app on the App Store and no way for iPhone users to use Spotify on their phone then some percentage of those iPhone users would still subscribe to Spotify (for laptop/browser use) but a good number wouldn't. Let's then say that they put their app on the App Store (at $9.99 per month) and they then pick up an additional 10 million subscribers that they didn't have before. Their revenue will now be $70 million per month more versus not having a presence on the App Store. I would consider that worthwhile but no, they won't be happy with $70 million...they want the whole $100 million because it's "unfair" that Apple can make more money than they do...even though Apple invested huge amounts of money in the tech and the platform...

The supermarket analogy breaks down when you consider that in the "name brand" products can offer their products at any retail outlet of their choosing - simply negotiate the deal and get it done. However, in the iPhone/iPad world, there is only a single "retailer" - the AppStore. Not being in the AppStore absolutely does mean that Spotify cannot get their app and their service on iPhones or iPads.

Personally, I pay through the Spotify website, but I am not really sure where I stand on this issue... both have valid points.
 
The difference is Apple is processing the sale and payment of the monthly recurring charge at their cost with their Merchant Services account. They’re the ones selling the subscription, collecting the payment, and paying the transaction fee to the payment network.

Uber and Lyft are charging for a service rendered in their own app, with their own Merchant Services account. Uber and Lyft are the ones selling the service, collecting the payment, and paying the transaction fee to the network.

Spotify is asking for the same ability to use their own Merchant Services account to process payments outside the app while linking to an account signup within the app, just like Apple allows Uber to do. Spotify is not getting Apple to process the recurring charge voluntarily. Spotify is only using Apple's in-app purchases because Apple requires them do either do so or not reference any payment method in the app at all.

Again, why should Spotify be held to a completely different standard than Uber?
 
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Then sue Amazon for unfair Prime Member music benefits. Bundling and echo systems are an advantage. Spotify, compete or or away.
What are you going on about? You can use Spotify on Echo devices with no problem, can you use Spotify or any other music service on Homepod? What about on the Apple watch? Can Spotify tie into Siri like it can Google on Android and Google Home, or Alexa and Cortana? Nope.
 
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I'm sure they would if it was as easy as hitting a subscribe button inside the app and going to Spotify's payment method but it's not that easy since you'd have to sign up thru the website then log into the app, most people are going to take the easy route and just do it the Apple way.
If Apple doesn't want to play by the EU laws, they don't have to sell in the EU. See how that works? Debate aside, we'll see how this plays out and I'm honestly hoping Apple loses.

I wonder how residents of the EU would feel if Apple packed up and left? Or how Spotify would feel if they were required to put a link to Apple music in their iOS app? Or if a ruling against Apple were to be applied to physical stores? The EU may well rule against Apple, that doesn't mean it makes sense, or is right, or will benefit anyone at all.
 
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Fair enough...although clearly those two guys (who I have never heard of to be honest) had a lot of weight to throw around if the deal is incorporating those numbers. For the average artist/band, you simply don't have that kind of leverage against the labels. Still interesting though...
A lot of rappers seem to be doing it these days, no one should ever let a record company own something or take majority stake in something they didn't make, that's just mad.
 
Apple gets absolutely nothing from Uber's app distribution or the services sold within their app either. Uber revenue for 2018 was $11 Billion. If you assume users of the iOS app accounted for half the revenue that would mean Uber generated $5.5 Billion through Apple users. That is going to absolutely dwarf the sales Spotify had through its iOS app, yet Apple is perfectly content to allow Uber to do so without paying a dime.[/QUOTE]


One more time, since it's inception, the App store only charges for DIGITAL GOODS that are processed through the App store. If you want to sell something, like a service, e.g., Uber, or physical goods, you can do so, but you can't use the App store to purchase it and since Apple doesn't process it, you don't have to pay them to do so.

A company can also use the App store for free (minus the $100 annual fee), if they don't want Apple to process and handle the customer. That's why a trillion dollar company like Amazon generates billions, but doesn't pay anything. Ditto with Netflix. It's why 85% of the millions of the Apps in the App store PAY NOTHING TO APPLE!

I
t's why Spotify is trying to deceive people. They can and do have you sign up directly with them and Apple gets nothing. It's like a company that sells directly to consumers on line wanting to sell something in Walmart stores, but not wanting to pay anything for Walmart to sell it and give them access to their customers and stores!
 
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