I agree, now that they have turned off their auto-renewal people might feel like looking at alternatives to spend their $9.99 a month
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Spotify Encourages Customers to Cancel App Store Subscription, Resubscribe via Web to Save $3
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That's exactly what I was thinking; had to be the same. Wonder how this hasn't gotten them in trouble already.
Whether customers are informed or not, charging them a different price than a regular price without informing them is misleading.
I was under the impression that $9.99 is a profitable level on a per a user basis. Where they are losing money is the people on free tiers since the ads don't cover a subscription cost, and the number of free users far outweighs the paid user base. Additionally their plan to move to profitability was in part focused on shifting free user so paid ones (and improving ad revenue from those that won't).
So yeah, Spotify isn't profitable current but I don't think the $9.99 cost of a subscription is itself the issue, rather the fact their conversion rates aren't yet high enough.
That said, I can see why they don't want to take a 30% hit. As others suggested, they should have just taken sign ups outside the app like some other services do.
Its definitely not as a fast as Spotify, thats the one thing Spotify have got nailed beyond anyone else in the industry, every song is instant. Apple have always been slow with time to start streaming - with iTunes previews or iTunes Match, Apple Music is no different as its running on the same backbone. Apple Music is better on a very fast connection (I have gigabit internet at work) but its still not instant like Spotify (though once it starts streaming on gigabit it grabs virtually the whole track in a second...its the TTFB (Time To First Byte) they need to improve upon) on a slow or average connection it can be painful whilst Spotify still near instant.
Just like no one seems to be able to compete with Apple's design aesthetic, Apple seems not to be able to compete with other people's cloud service speed.
I thought there would be a student discount as well. You consider that Apple Music isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread, and it's just not a good deal.
Because people are ignorant. Period. Oh, was that rhetorical?
Now watch as Apple removes Spotify from the App Store period to punish them like Monster.
I've always said the App Store 30% thing was a total and utter rip-off to one and all, but Kool-Aid & The Gang ranted and raved how "normal" it was for a company to run a few automated numbers through their server system and charge 1/3 the cost of the entire product for doing it. But that's what brick and mortar stores charge they screamed!!! It's a GREAT deal! Yeah, but brick and mortar stores have to use retail space to store actual physical products or at least place holders (cards, whatever) for digital products. Trying to compare physical space that has HVAC, a roof, etc. and limited space to some bits on a hard drive that costs a few cents to store is ludicrous. Maybe it's time people wake up to that FACT.
Have you noticed that hardly anyone uses the Mac App Store? Why would they? Other distributors like Steam (for games) offer deep sales on a regular basis (App store versions are almost always at retail 100% of the time), give you the Windows version of that same software for free and tend to work with the PC versions for Networked Games (compared to only working with Apple's Game matching with other Macs for the App Store versions which almost no one uses). Now just imagine how much better it would be for iOS Apps and Games if you could get those Apps from someone like STEAM instead of Apple. But no, Apple has a virtual monopoly on Apps for their iOS devices and so you MUST pay the 30% Apple Tax and put up with Apple's onerous "rules" and arbitrary banning decisions (like removing civil war flags in civil war strategy games where they belong because of some modern day unrelated event). Yeah, "freedom" gets the shaft when your options are limited. It's why we once had anti-monopoly and anti-trust and other consumer-centric laws in this country that the corporations HATE because competition means smaller profits for them and better prices and more options for you with less censorship (and by God yes, Apple CENSORS content on their App Stores!)
We should have some new laws that "separate" hardware and software markets entirely in the sense that just because you offer a mobile computer (whether phone-based or tablet based) doesn't mean you should have the right to force people to buy 3rd party software only through YOUR distribution network where you can virtually demand any fee you want nor should I have to buy different HARDWARE just to get a period flag back in a civil war game? Why should corporations get to censor free speech, press and expression while simultaneously hypocritically shoving other things down your throat they do like?
Personally, I'd prefer ALL corporations (including Apple) stay the hell out of politics and religion. They're a business with their shares sold to anyone and everyone (i.e. the public) and thus no single person there should be making company policy regarding divisive issues. Sell the tech, not the propaganda please and let there be competition at all markets from hardware to software to the distribution thereof. Capitalism is supposed to be a consumer-orientated and benefited economy, not a limited corporate one. Let the consumer decide what they do and do not want to buy and let these companies compete for my dollar, not force me to buy from a single source.
You have a source for this supposed disaster. I've seen or heard no evidence to support your ridiculous claim.
I dislike that Spotify's wording makes it seem like, it's Apple adding on the additional cost. Tidal did something similar. The truth is, it's them adding on the additional cost to compensate for what they have to pay Apple. But they word it so that the user can think it's Apple unfairly doing it.
uhh...Apple built said ecosystem to get people to buy their hardware. The ecosystem benefits Apple way more than it benefits app developers.
Makes it seem like? There's ZERO functional difference in the two ways of looking at it you're talking about! If Spotify needs to make $10 a month to meet their goals (whatever they are for whatever reason I'm not going into here), then they need $10. If Apple then takes $3 of that as their distribution share then Spotify doesn't have $10. They have $7. Now whether you want to blame that on Spotify or on Apple, it makes no difference. In order for them to get $10 from Apple after a sale, they have to charge just over $14 (they are charging $12.99, so they are making LESS at $12.99 on the App Store than at $9.99 on their own site (although I imagine there's some of their own distribution costs in there that may even it out).
But you make it sound like there's a difference between them adding on the cost to compensate for Apple's charges and Apple charging them money to use their store. THERE IS NO FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCE WHAT-SO-EVER. Hence, I dislike your post (sadly I can't indicate a dislike with a button so I'll post this long post here to indicate my displeasure for your illogical dislike of Spotify for those reasons indicated).
Then learn to read. A few popular blogs have the issues documented. I've posted screenshots of the issues. Get out more. Get some sun.
Apple greedy? Straw man much?
Apple invented the app store. Not just their App Store, but the app store. They provided the developer tools, provided the banking/financial tools, provided support and tutorials, built out the infrastructure, promoted, and provided the very bed of an OS for the apps to run on. For millions of developers the 30% fee is perfectly fine, because they don't have to build out their own e-commerce site, or promote their own applications, or develop their own programming code.
Spotify was perfectly fine with in app subscription until Apple started offering a competing product (a better competing product, IMO) for less money. Now Spotify is using whatever means they can to try to gain back some of the competitive ground they've lost. Good for them. But this is not about Apple's greed. This is about corporate competition. Spotify is a startup who used Apple to get themselves going, and now they're one of the big players in the field. If they want to have it be "fair" as you say, perhaps they should develop their own hardware and OS to run their program on.
And if you want to talk about being "greedy" do the math on the 70/30 split. If you buy Spotify through the In App subscription they're paying $3.89 to Apple. Why aren't they giving their subscribers a $3.89 discount for the hassle of using their website to subscribe?
You think tge dev would pay the 30 percent if it didn't help them too. Seriously! Apple is able to charge more because they built the ecosystem that brings the money, how hard is it to get that down. Why do you think spotify was using yhe app store in the first place.
Good grief.
With apple, service, software, hardware are a whole; they all support each other.
They haven't started a war just when apple released a new money sucking service tho
Not only is the 30% fee that Apple charge all developers far too much, but there is another issue that needs to come to the mainstream media's attention:
Whenever Apple feature apps for free on the App Store, they don't pay the developers. In other words, this is exactly the same as Apple expecting the musicians to offer their music at no cost for the three month Apple Music trial.
No wonder Apple has obscene profits. We need another open letter from Taylor Swift.
Whenever Apple feature apps for free on the App Store, they don't pay the developers. In other words, this is exactly the same as Apple expecting the musicians to offer their music at no cost for the three month Apple Music trial.
No wonder Apple has obscene profits. We need another open letter from Taylor Swift.
So I'm really looking forward to Spotify dropping all of your subscriptions to £3 a month to match premium membership through Vodafone.... Oh wait. They won't.
"Spotify Encourages Customers to Cancel App Store Subscription, Resubscribe via Web to Save $3"
I think maybe I'll just do the first part by itself.
I think maybe I'll just do the first part by itself.
OMG a blogger said something negative about Apple music! Why do people care about why some guy with an Internet connection and a blogging account thinks?
Something having "issues" is not a disaster. Unless of course you naively follow the hype of a "blogger".
Too late Spotify. They've been charging me $9.99 a month even though I subscribed straight through them. I cancelled my account and tried the Apple Music and I love it plus 3 months of free music goodness. The entire family can stream all at the same time without being cut off. I don't see myself going back to their service unless they're half price cheaper.
Why is it sad? I don't know spotify's profit margin but it would be safe to say it's less than 30%. Would you expect them to operate at a loss instead?
Spotify is doomed and is not a well run company. Between Apple music and the expansion of google music they are on borrowed time.
Here they compound one bad decision with another. Not even sure this doesn't violate apples terms and conditions.
I am shocked people keep dumping funding into this company. At one point it was for the ipo payoff but I don't even know if they will survive long enough for test.
Here they compound one bad decision with another. Not even sure this doesn't violate apples terms and conditions.
I am shocked people keep dumping funding into this company. At one point it was for the ipo payoff but I don't even know if they will survive long enough for test.
Actually there is a minus profit margin as we premium subscribers are subsidising the freeloaders tier.