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FTC Looking Into App Store Rules Regarding Subscription Services
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So then open Safari, go to Spotify.com and sign up. Not difficult.
But Apple can't prevent Spotify sending people an email directing them to their website to subscribe.
Back then Microsoft had 90% of the desktop platform. Apple came into a market that was already well established by cell phones and had to compete with the biggest names such as Nokia & Blackberry. We still have more Android phones on the market than Apple so no monopoly exists.
Buy an Android device.
Chargin 30% as a one time fee for every app you sell is something. Charging 30% for a service Apple doesn't run it's a whole other story. It's wrong and Apple has to stop now that they have a service of their own.
Spotify is basically telling me they can't afford the 30% and they are probably going out of business soon, and they will be raising the rates on the Apple Store to cover their costs. Maybe they should have baked in the 30% when they offered the plans there initially. Did they just discover 30% is too high, and if that is the case, it means they are probably not going to last much longer.
How times have changed. Remember when the Apple of today was the Microsoft of yesterday?
Because it is completely different and thats why its under investigation by the FTC and retail stores aren't. Maybe I'm wrong and you really do have a better understanding of anti-trust law than the Federal Trade Commission......
Apple may not do much initially for its developers of apps or services. Indirectly it does a lot for them. Apple made its platform very attractive for its customers. It took a couple of decades from the first iPod on the market. It took money, the right decisions, buying the right companies, took all the right steps to get where they are today. So they have every right to make a profit from people who want to make money off of the Apple platform. If you think they charge too much, these developers can go elsewhere. If they really thought it was too much they would be leaving in droves and Apple would probably lower fees to get them to come back. But free market often will balance itself out.
That would work out great, we'd end up in a world where there was one supermarket chain, one restaurant chain etc.. i'd be like Demolition Man where there is only Taco Bell
If we leave it up to the sleazy lawyers, we'd still be using telephones with hand cranks.
"While the FTC is looking into the App Store rules, there's no guarantee they'll launch a formal investigation as antitrust lawyers that spoke to Reuters were split on whether Apple is breaking the law."
My understanding is as good as the understanding of the lawyers involved, it seems.
A 30% commission is excessive. But the Apple zealots will defend it no matter what, just like any religious cult. In their eyes Apple can do no wrong, regardless of the number of times they're found guilty for price fixing. Inflated commission only means an inflated price for consumers, but some people are happy to get ripped off it seems. They're perfectly content to defend a greedy corporation over people, a business which abuses tax code loopholes to receive welfare for the rich, tax shelters for tax avoidance, which also inflates our currency, even though they already have more cash reserves than the US Treasury.
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That's why I asked who was getting rich as another user claimed. I never mentioned Apple's cut.
What is Spotify going to do next? Demand that Apple separate the Apple Music subscription service from their music app and not allow it to be preinstalled on iOS devices?
Why did you make a big deal out of that one comment? It has very little to do with the topic at hand.
Why did you make a big deal by commenting on it? See how that works?
I hope Apple loses this battle. microsoft got slapped for it's shady practices and Apple should get slapped as well.
Because Apple owns the marketplace the competition is rigged in their favor. They have an unfair advantage over their competition. This practice has to change.
Because Apple owns the marketplace the competition is rigged in their favor. They have an unfair advantage over their competition. This practice has to change.
Apple doesn't own the market, unlike Microsoft at the time, Apple is nowhere near a monopoly position. Microsoft used their near monopoly of the desktop OS to try to win and capture the browser market.
Android devices comes with the Gapps preinstalled, they can't be removed without rooting the device, and they have a larger market share, so why single out Apple when it's more appropriate to scrutinize Android in terms of market share.
Everything else is always more appropriate than checking into Apple's business practices.
Someone took Microsoft as an example, surely you understand that market share matters when an comparisson like that is made..
My understanding is that if a developer wishes to use In-App Purchases to make extra content available, then Apple will host that content. So the 30% fee not only covers payment, setup, retail display etc., but also hosting costs.
But Spotify surely hosts all its content itself. This is why a flat 30% fee seems so iniquitous to me. I feel that Apple should have a much lower fee, maybe 5 or 10%, if a developer wishes to manage the hosting of content.
There is a world of difference between a tiny developer paying 30% on an IAP which provides a few extra features, all hosted by Apple, using virtually no storage or management, to a mammoth video streaming service like Netflix which uses vastly more resources.
But Spotify surely hosts all its content itself. This is why a flat 30% fee seems so iniquitous to me. I feel that Apple should have a much lower fee, maybe 5 or 10%, if a developer wishes to manage the hosting of content.
There is a world of difference between a tiny developer paying 30% on an IAP which provides a few extra features, all hosted by Apple, using virtually no storage or management, to a mammoth video streaming service like Netflix which uses vastly more resources.