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Spotify Legal Chief: 'Apple's Ability to Strangle its Competitors is Unprecedented'
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Best Buy did not create the intellectual property (in the form of APIs and developer tools) for those companies to build their products, nor the devices they run on (installed base of 1B users).
Best Buy also doesn't let customers walk out of stores with products for free ... that's generally frowned upon if you try
. Wholesale works generally very differently and physical stores take a much higher percentage of the profits than digital (even Epic admits this). The truth is digital by commission and physical by wholesale are two very different platforms. Both sides using it as analogy fail.Yes, it’s simple math that as systems become several orders of magnitude larger, the amount of money required to run those systems decrease until it’s virtually zero.
Oh yes they do. They take maybe even more on some goods they sell
When you own the game, you set the rules. I wish all these companies would quit whining already, nobody is forcing you to have your app on the the iPhone. Make something better, then you can control the rules. It's not like Apple was able to create the iPhone for free, it should actually be much less expensive to create an iPhone like device today, than to create a new device from scratch. Greed, that is what it boils down to. It is very easy to circumvent the issues created by Apple's Dev rules. Allow everybody to create a user account for free on your app. Get a working email address during user account creation. Then send your new customer an email...you can put a link in the email for them to sign up in your store. All this greed and hate, and all they have to do is put a link in the email. The customer clicks the link, it opens in a browser automatically, and payment can be as simple as they want it to be. A very slight inconvenience to the customer. If your product is that good, I am sure it won't be an issue for any consumer to figure out.
Good to know.
Also, I noticed any comments defending Apple’s right to a cut on their plate
Exactly. To someone making a moral argument saying “I wouldn’t do it if I were Apple”…yeah you would, and you know it.
After hearing that the Spotify CEO engaged in shady practices with MSFT, they’re just as guilty as Apple of anything in this case. And you know without a shadow of doubt they’d do the same thing in regards to commission if they had Apple’s leverage. Just look at how they pay their artists…
The problem with Spotify's argument, and where it really falls down is when you look at marketshare: Spotify has 138 million users, compared to Apple Music's 72 million. If Apple really has the ability to "strangle its competitors" as Gutierrez claims, they seem to be doing a really poor job of using that ability.
On top of that, Spotify pays between $0.0026 - $0.0049 per stream, whereas Apple is paying $0.0076. So not only does Spotify have some 66 million more users, but their costs are significantly lower. Some strangulation.
The simple fact of the matter is that Spotify and Epic just don't want to pay anything they don't have to – certainly nothing new – and will warp the facts around whatever narrative supports that goal. Unfortunately for them, though, they don't really have a leg to stand on.
On top of that, Spotify pays between $0.0026 - $0.0049 per stream, whereas Apple is paying $0.0076. So not only does Spotify have some 66 million more users, but their costs are significantly lower. Some strangulation.
The simple fact of the matter is that Spotify and Epic just don't want to pay anything they don't have to – certainly nothing new – and will warp the facts around whatever narrative supports that goal. Unfortunately for them, though, they don't really have a leg to stand on.
It’s true. All of those brand shops (Verizon, Sony, AT&T, etc.) are all vendor provided labor and there are lengthy contracts negotiating those. Best Buy is not a straight forward retail store. I used to work there and saw how they operate. I’m sure others could chime in as well.
Apple has a right to keep their store and prevent any other store on their hardware/software. We all know that when buying into the ecosystem. Devs/3rd Parties all know this when submitting apps. However, is 30% a fair price...highly unlikely. Just because other app stores have similar prices does not mean it's right or moral. 15% should be the max. And for apps that have subscriptions, Apple should get a flat rate per person, not a percentage. Finally, Apple and all other companies should not be able to expand so broadly. Apple has no business being a content creator just as AT&T had no business buying TimeWarner. For instance, it would be unfair to charge Netflix 30% extra, then market your own streaming service. Regulators really need to stop this across all corporations.
You could create your own platform then. Or you could pull your item from the competitions platform and see how well your app sells outside of it.
best buy does not take my grandma to the box social
best buy is neither best nor bi
best buy does not anoint my rash with a calming salve
best buy has never once offered me the last cheese curd
best buy does not provide the benefits of a breath mint NOR a candy mint
best buy does not like mustard on it’s clean white shirt, baby
best buy does not rhyme with the names of two body parts… wait… um, what was the point again?
best buy is neither best nor bi
best buy does not anoint my rash with a calming salve
best buy has never once offered me the last cheese curd
best buy does not provide the benefits of a breath mint NOR a candy mint
best buy does not like mustard on it’s clean white shirt, baby
best buy does not rhyme with the names of two body parts… wait… um, what was the point again?
What cut does Walmart get from glad trash bags? Or use any other example. 30% seems a little high, but what about other high margin items?
I can't figure out if you are being serious or not...?
These are such moronic comments, how about Apple having to create their own mobile phone network before being allowed to create a mobile phone...
all apps in the app store have a link to the developer website.
and help.
it's not that hard to subscribe outside.
if these companies stopped whinging... the reason i use and pay for Spotify is the interface works better for me. across devices. i find Spotify's "Download" option just quicker and easier - and i have a free Apple Music account and have only tried it a few times.
If Spotify keep improving the interface and make content relevant then they will keep the lead.
Regardless of how you have to subscribe.
I don’t understand why an Apple user would want to use Spotify anyway?
As is usually the case, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Is Apple as horribly oppressive as Spotify et. al. would have you believe? No. Is Apple's 30% cut too much? Yes. Is their prevention of companies using their own payment processing draconian? Yes. Did Apple create a ton of opportunity for millions of developers? Yes. Did those developers, in turn, add to the value proposition of iOS? Yes.
Apple needs to mitigate some of the more hardline stances they've developed over time, like allowing apps to use their own payment systems, but entirely gutting the App Store model would ruin iOS – the baby shouldn't be thrown out with the bathwater.
Apple needs to mitigate some of the more hardline stances they've developed over time, like allowing apps to use their own payment systems, but entirely gutting the App Store model would ruin iOS – the baby shouldn't be thrown out with the bathwater.
Spotify is asking the U.S. to speed up its regulatory initiatives against Apple with "urgent, narrowly tailored updates" to antitrust law to "end such egregious abuses."
I have a lot more sympathy for Spotify than Epic and they have a better case (especially in Europe). I won't get into what they pay artists (although that may be a huge source of hypocrisy on their part, it's not entirely relevant). But this is where I lose sympathy. Bills of attainder in the US are generally considered ... bad form. If walled gardens aren't an acceptable business practice (and to be clear a lot of companies operate on this principle), especially if the company itself competes on its own platform, then they aren't acceptable for anyone, not just Apple. The console makers and many other platforms, digital and physical, would have to be included too.
I have a lot more sympathy for Spotify than Epic and they have a better case (especially in Europe). I won't get into what they pay artists (although that may be a huge source of hypocrisy on their part, it's not entirely relevant). But this is where I lose sympathy. Bills of attainder in the US are generally considered ... bad form. If walled gardens aren't an acceptable business practice (and to be clear a lot of companies operate on this principle), especially if the company itself competes on its own platform, then they aren't acceptable for anyone, not just Apple. The console makers and many other platforms, digital and physical, would have to be included too.
Apple should allow users to side load apps on their own risk, loosing warranty and apple oficial service. They would still be able to upgrade iOS through apple. Some people would probably take the risk.