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Oh, so it's about the subscription thing. They should do what Netflix did.
I think they do that. I have always subscribed to Spotify via Spotify.com, because I thought it was the only way to do it. It's the same thing with Kindle books for the Kindle ios app. You buy the book at Amazon.com, then download to the app. Not a problem.
 
Spotify has had an ongoing feud with Apple since the debut of Apple Music. Apple Music is priced at $9.99, a price point that Spotify is unable to match due to the 30 percent cut that Apple takes, as it does not leave enough margin for Spotify to make money. Spotify has complained that it has no choice but to charge more on iOS devices and no alternative as Apple does not allow it to offer alternative signup or payment options in its app.
Seems like Spotify has a good case here.
 
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"Apple's platform" or "your phone"? Why take a stand for a corporation? ANY corporation?
You can do whatever you want with your phone, Apple isn't (and shouldn't be) compelled to do each and everything you or I or Spotify want them to, because doing all those things requires time and money and resources.

Apple makes its devices and offers various capabilities. Either that is worth it to you, or its not. You buy their phone if it works for you, you buy an Android phone (or no phone) if it doesn't. If you want Apple to change something you can certainly try and convince them to do so, you can choose not to buy their product until they change their mind, but forcing them to accede to whatever random demand each user/company wants? Not only is that absurd, its also impractical.

So again, if you don't like how the iPhone works, simple, don't get one. Apple is quite upfront with what is and isn't allowed, what features are there and which ones that aren't. You can make a choice.
 


At an App Store antitrust hearing that took place today, Spotify and Match Group (the company behind Tinder) accused Apple of abusing its App Store powers to to disadvantage rival services, reports Bloomberg. Spotify chief Legal Officer Horacio Gutierrez said that Apple's rules are "nothing more than an abusive power grab."

app-store-blue-banner-spotfiy.jpg
Spotify has had an ongoing feud with Apple since the debut of Apple Music. Apple Music is priced at $9.99, a price point that Spotify is unable to match due to the 30 percent cut that Apple takes, as it does not leave enough margin for Spotify to make money. Spotify has complained that it has no choice but to charge more on iOS devices and no alternative as Apple does not allow it to offer alternative signup or payment options in its app.

Match, meanwhile, complained that it had wanted to add ID verification rules to boost the app's safety in Taiwan, but Apple would not allow it to do so. Match contacted an Apple executive, who allegedly told the company that it should be glad Apple was not taking all of its revenue. "You owe us every dime you've made," the Apple executive reportedly said.

The "Antitrust Applied: Examining Competition in App Stores" hearing is examining App Stores and mobile competition, and is focused on Apple and Google. Apple's Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer was in attendance to defend Apple.

Andeer stuck to Apple's standard talking points about how the App Store revolutionized software distribution and made it easier for developers to reach new users. Andeer said that Apple's strict App Store rules are designed to meet privacy, safety, and performance standards.

Apple's App Store rules are also facing a U.S. Department of Justice antitrust investigation, and Apple is currently gearing up for a showdown over its App Store policies with Epic Games.

Article Link: Spotify Calls Apple's App Store Restrictions 'An Abusive Power Grab'
As in the long history of US commerce: those who can DO...and sell people products that customers WANT! Those who can't...go straight to the congress critters. Ask the corn farmers why you Have To Have ethanol in your vehicle! I remember decades ago when cassette tape manufactures almost got the dumb ass congress critters to place a TAX on all tapes (which would go to Sony etc.) because they could be used , by the buyer, to record the buyers music which the buyer already owned!!! This bs has played itself out over and over again....there was a time when you could not OWN your home phone...you had to rent it monthly from MaBell. Why? Because ATT OWNED many congress critters...The arrogance of these companies complaining about a system which they did not foster and without which they would not even EXIST is almost too much....for someone who has watched this bs progression over the decades. Can't 'do it' as Nike says? Get a lawyer and petition (campaign $$/ supply MSM attention to) the congress critters. Some on these forums should be careful what they wish for.....the self-serving idiots in DC almost NEVER improve on ANYTHING and are the handmaidens of 'unintended consequences '....turn Apples system/store (yes, APPLES....the owner/designer/producer/inventor) into a flea market and FB and the other bottom feeders will reap the rewards. The critters will simply move on to the next deconstruction project....provided it's being aired by the MSM.
 
Why wouldn’t Apple allow Match Group to add ID verification?
The comment made by that Apple executive is indefensible.
Why? Because its up to them! When you OWN something.....YOU decide how to sell/rent/share....OR NOT! that something. Used to be that way anyway....
 
"Spotify has had an ongoing feud with Apple since the debut of Apple Music. Apple Music is priced at $9.99, a price point that Spotify is unable to match due to the 30 percent cut that Apple takes, as it does not leave enough margin for Spotify to make money. Spotify has complained that it has no choice but to charge more on iOS devices and no alternative as Apple does not allow it to offer alternative signup or payment options in its app."

Seems like Spotify has a good case here.

If Spotify can't make money on their product thats not Apples fault. They absolutely have a choice, multiple in fact. They can:

1. Sell subscriptions through their website at $9.99 and pay Apple nothing
2. Charge more using in App payment and convince customers its worth it
3. Not make an App for the iPhone and hope users complain so Apple changes its policies
4. Cut costs to their service so they can make money at a lower price point

Spotify has no case. Platform providers are always going to have inherent advantages, its why you make your own platform. Its not an issue if the platform is not a monopoly and iOS is not a monopoly. Spotify isn't entitled to be on the iPhone, thats a choice they make based on whether they can make money doing it or not. Plenty of successful apps are on one platform or another. You want to be on iOS, you follow the rules or you move along. Its that simple.
 
I don’t get this. All these app developers are acting like Apple suddenly sprung the App Store on them. iOS has been locked down since the beginning. If anything Apple has opened it more with each release.

This is not like if Microsoft suddenly decided to lock all versions of Windows to just App Store apps.

There are lots of benefits to the App Store model and using Apple’s payment services. As a consumer there is no way I would use a third party store or payment service. I like knowing that my credit card info is safe only on Apple’s servers and not spread all over the place. Frankly if I wanted what these devs are pushing I would have bought an Android phone.
 
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You never heard of advertisement revenue?

A quick Google search would tel you al you need to know

If they aren't making a profit, ad revenue isn't helping them keep the lights on. The only way a company stays in business while losing money is to get additional investors. Eventually they either start turning a profit or the investors dry up and they fold. If Spotify can't make money as a service, then it can (and should) fail. Its not essential.
 
Instead of selling songs at $.99 a pop, Spotify created a streaming service of unlimited music. Tile created a product to find missing items. They MADE something. Apple is the one that didn’t innovate and decided to copy them. But now Spotify and Tile obviously can’t compete with Apple.
IF what you state is 100% true....this is Apples problem HOW? The BMW dealer HAS to allow me to sell MY car products in HIS showroom for a cut of the profits that I determine????
 
Make your own hardware, OS, ecosystem, and global user base. Or be thankful hardware, OSes, ecosystems and global user bases exist for you to carve out a piece of the pie. Geesh.
 
So we're just going to pull numbers out our asses of what Apple "should" be charging? Why not 3%? Why not 1%? Why not free?
'to each his or her need....from each his or her...' oH, my bad. Wrong forum. Which way to the commune? 😏
 
30-15% cut is high, at least for services where most of the contents are on their hosted service.

Services like video and music streaming, podcasts, books, and file hosting, maybe subscription-based games with significant hosted contents and multiplayer infrastructure, should be reduced to 15% first year, 7.5% the next.
Since we are just making up numbers why not 2%? And my taxes should also be 2%.
 
I think it's reasonable to expect that Spotify and other services would be given the same toolbox as Apple's own apps.

Apple's apps should have to compete on a level playing field with other apps.
Why? Home field advantage is ok.
 
Apple has actually done a lot to allow rival services to work well within iOS. And it works: I just signed up for Spotify (rather than Apple Music) exactly because it works well in iOS, including with Siri. So I feel Spotify does not have too much to complain about. Of course I signed up through the website, not in the app.
 
Why wouldn’t Apple allow Match Group to add ID verification?
The comment made by that Apple executive is indefensible.

We don't know if the alleged statement is true and in the proper context of the whole alleged conversation.
Exactly, while it can totally be plausible, that level of zealotry and loyalty is unlikely.
Let’s suppose I work for Nintendo and I got a call from a publisher with some complaints about not being happy with the fees required to develop and release on Nintendo consoles... I would never in a million years, no matter the executive level there, would reply with a “you owe us” all the pennies you have made.
First of all it’s not my company and second of all Nintendo doesn’t care about me, my loyalty at that level is unwarranted not to mention worrisome having an employee having such feelings of ownership. The only one, and a far fetched one, would maybe be the owner of Nintendo himself.

*I don’t work for Nintendo, just using it as an example since always the fees and development costs are bashed when it’s Apple but forgiving all the other similar existing platforms. That they sell at a loss? That was their choice. That they are “different”? Not really.
 
“Spotify has had an ongoing feud with Apple since the debut of Apple Music. ‌Apple Music‌ is priced at $9.99, a price point that Spotify is unable to match due to the 30 percent cut that Apple takes, as it does not leave enough margin for Spotify to make money. Spotify has complained that it has no choice but to charge more on iOS devices and no alternative as Apple does not allow it to offer alternative signup or payment options in its app.”

I side with Spotify here 100%. This is a particularly egregious scenario.
 
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I don't know why there just isn't a simple option.

Developers who don't want to pay the Apple 30% cut for subscriptions, should just be given a choice to pay a hosting fee on the App store. Just like vendors must pay for placement on store shelves.
 
“Spotify has had an ongoing feud with Apple since the debut of Apple Music. ‌Apple Music‌ is priced at $9.99, a price point that Spotify is unable to match due to the 30 percent cut that Apple takes, as it does not leave enough margin for Spotify to make money. Spotify has complained that it has no choice but to charge more on iOS devices and no alternative as Apple does not allow it to offer alternative signup or payment options in its app.”

I side with Spotify here 100%. This is a particularly egregious scenario.
Spotify doesn’t need to let people sign up in the app. Not even hard.
 
I wish web apps were more common. It was Steve's original vision for the iPhone after all and I still think it was the right one.
Apple purposefully tweaks iOS so web apps can't be as useful as native apps.

One big one: Notice how you can have websites send you notifications through Safari on your Mac? This feature is missing on iOS. Push notifications are important for most services to succeed; Apple doesn't allow them on iOS Safari because they know suddenly a whole lot of services wouldn't need to use apps at all.

Another one: Ever save a website as an app on the homescreen? Ever notice how clunky and unreliable this is? And how web apps always reload when you go back to them? Yup, intentional gimping of web apps.
 
Exactly. This is Netflix's solution:

View attachment 1761872

And it doesn't appear to have hurt Netflix... since they're still the largest video subscription streaming service in the world.

So Spotify... who happens to be the largest music subscription streaming service... could do something similar.

Or... they can go to court... and attack the very same platform that they want to be on.

:p
Huh. Is this new? I've had Netflix for years and years and am still paying through Apple.
 
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