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Many of Apple's business units are subsidized by other parts of the business.

Ask yourself: do you think Apple Music, supposing it's not run at a loss, could afford a 30% fee on first year subscribers and still be competitive with Spotify?

Update, after googling around: Apple Music's gross margin is estimated at 15%. That's not enough to cover a 30% first year subscriber fee. And of course there are additional costs in actually running Apple Music (not just paying out royalties).

It's totally unfair to Spotify.
Spotify offers a free tier which is a predatory maneuver by the dominant market player, therefore Spotify is guilty of antitrust behavior.

See? You can make any argument and it sounds just as good.
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Functionally you are correct, however they pay a fee for the development tools. Technically they don't pay to submit an app but rather they pay for the resources to make one. Apple just doesn't allow apps to be submitted that were not compiled using their software.
Yes they do.
 
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Why do you keep saying that when the courts have said "it looks like monopoly, let's have a court case to decide". And the court case is later this year.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/20/...s-pepper-antitrust-lawsuit-standing-explainer

I was operating under the condition that you are guilty after a trial, and not before.
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Spotify offers a free tier which is a predatory maneuver by the dominant market player, therefore Spotify is guilty of antitrust behavior.

See? You can make any argument and it sounds just as good.
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Yes they do.

Show me where it says that, because I don't believe that is true.
 
Can you clarify your point? Nintendo (an likely Microsoft and Sony as well) restricts the number of games on their platform that can be sold per year by a developer. They can also refuse to approve a game if they don't think it is good enough for release (although this is rarely done). It doesn't matter if you have the option to choose the store it will be sold at if they can decide your game isn't approved to be released for their platform.

All those things Nintendo/ms/Sony are doing are not illegal.

What apple is doing (restricting devs and forcing them to use apples store) is possibly illegal and is going to be decided in court (apple vs pepper court case)
 
I was operating under the condition that you are guilty after a trial, and not before.
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Show me where it says that, because I don't believe that is true.

That’s ridiculous. You make the claim that it’s in the rules, I say it’s not, so I have to show you where it’s not? I can’t prove a negative.

Nonetheless, here you go: the short answer is that as long as you upload a valid .ipa (that doesn’t violate other rules), apple doesn’t care how you built it. In fact, they can’t even tell if you used Xcode. You can use Xamarin with visual studio on windows, etc.

http://vojtastavik.com/2018/10/15/building-ios-app-without-xcode/
 
jlc1978, wtf are you talking about, the app store through the ios is a monopoly, there is NO other option to get an app on an apple product, thats the issue here, there are plenty of other distribution models? on ios there is ONLY 1, the app store. What you said is untrue and just stupid. Factually you are 100% wrong with your statement. There is only 1 way to get an app on an apple product, with apple forcing it that way and charging crazy prices is what literally makes it a monopoly. There is NO other option for people, hence this entire post about apple having a monopoly lol.

Your definition of a monopoly is simply incorrect. Being the sole distribution system for your products does not make you a monopoly unless you can exert market power to set prices; which Apple cannot do. They are not the single seller of a unique device that allows them to dictate prices for the market, as shown by the proliferation of similar devices at various price points. In addition, Apple devices are only a small fraction of mobile devices in use, further showing they are not a monopoly.

Apple does not control the only way to access user of streaming services, they are merely one way of so doing. Apple is only a one part of the market for streaming audio, and cannot dictate prices in that market. Spotify has plenty of ways to sell into that market, and can even do so on iOS devices via the web if they so chose.

Spotify doesn't like Apple's terms and that's fine. Apple is offering access to the app store on the same terms as it offers anyone; Spotify can either accept them or forgo having an app on the app store.

Your argument is liking saying Porsche has a monopoly because if I want to sell something at a dealership I have to give them a significant discount over retail; even though I can still sell it through an alternate channel.
 
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This to me is the core issue here. What Apple is doing - entering a market then using their market power to try to "encourage" others to exit that market - is exactly the sort of practice that Microsoft got in trouble for. Microsoft used their market power (they WEREN'T a monopoly - Mac and Unix/Linux existed at the time!) to try to push their browser. Although I still think this situation is a bit worse - Microsoft never forced you to use their browser, they only required it to be preinstalled. The entire idea was "people might be discouraged from using the competition because the UX of using the built in option was better." That's precisely what's happening here - the UX of using Apple Music, along with its potentially lower cost (should Spotify raise prices to compensate for the Apple tax), is quite obviously going to "discourage" people from using the competition.


The big difference is that Microsoft at the time had something like 80-90% of the OS market locked up while iOS has like 25%. If Spotify doesn't like Apple's rates they can leave and still make plenty of money on Android.
 
Microsoft used their market power (they WEREN'T a monopoly - Mac and Unix/Linux existed at the time!) to try to push their browser. Although I still think this situation is a bit worse - Microsoft never forced you to use their browser, they only required it to be preinstalled. The entire idea was "people might be discouraged from using the competition because the UX of using the built in option was better." That's precisely what's happening here - the UX of using Apple Music, along with its potentially lower cost (should Spotify raise prices to compensate for the Apple tax), is quite obviously going to "discourage" people from using the competition.

Microsoft was in fact a monopoly at the time, and were ruled such by a federal judge.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/judge-rules-microsoft-a-monopoly

People keep using the monopoly term with incorrect understanding of what the term means in applicable law.

In commercial Law, a monopoly is not anyone making a unique product. IOW Ford is not a monopolist in Law, because only they make Ford Cars. There are other cars.

A monopoly is when you are effectively the sole provider of a good/service that has no close substitute.

Microsoft when the owned >95% of the market for all consumer computing devices was a monopoly, and legally determined to be one.

Apple with less than 30% of just mobile is certainly not a monopoly.

You are not a monopolist of your own products, just because only you build/control them. With that mentality nearly every consumer product company is a monopoly. That isn't how it works.

You have to have no close substitutes of significance. Android is certainly a significant close substitute.
 
The gov doesn't have to set the price or percentage. They can force apple to allow alternative iOS app stores. The market can determine the price.
I will stick to the security and peace of mind that the Apple App Store provides, even if an alternative does get created. For the same reason I never jailbreak my iOS devices. On my Macs, I very rarely install apps that are not available through the Mac App Store. Very rarely and only when I am as certain as I can be that they are safe and malware free. On my iOS devices there is simply no need for me to go around the App Store. As I posted earlier, I do pay for Spotify, Netflix, 1Password, etc, directly to the developer. But the apps themselves were obtained via App Store.
 
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That’s ridiculous. You make the claim that it’s in the rules, I say it’s not, so I have to show you where it’s not? I can’t prove a negative.

Nonetheless, here you go: the short answer is that as long as you upload a valid .ipa (that doesn’t violate other rules), apple doesn’t care how you built it. In fact, they can’t even tell if you used Xcode. You can use Xamarin with visual studio on windows, etc.

http://vojtastavik.com/2018/10/15/building-ios-app-without-xcode/

You seem to have twisted it. I said they don't pay the fee for uploading it, you said they do. Apple doesn't check if you used their software but they know you couldn't have used it if you didn't pay for it.
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All those things Nintendo/ms/Sony are doing are not illegal.

What apple is doing (restricting devs and forcing them to use apples store) is possibly illegal and is going to be decided in court (apple vs pepper court case)

Everything is possibly illegal until the court decides it.
 
A monopoly is being the sole provide of a good/service without close substitute.

Apple is the sole provide of iPhones/services, but Android Phones/services would be considered a close substitute.

In addition, Spotify can still reach iOS users via the web and bypass the app store entirely; so Apple isn't even controlling their ability to access iOS users.
 
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All those things Nintendo/ms/Sony are doing are not illegal.

What apple is doing (restricting devs and forcing them to use apples store) is possibly illegal and is going to be decided in court (apple vs pepper court case)

Again, Where are the alternate stores where I can get Nintendo/MS/Sony games that Nintendo/MS/Sony don't control and don't get their cut from?

That's twice you have made this claim, and twice I have asked you to back it up.

If you don't provide evidence, I will have to assume you are just making things up to support your argument.
 
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Why should it be 1-5%? Who decides the value and the costs? Why not 8% or 13%. Is it a number that is close to 0 and therefor feels “fair”.
There is a value for being a storefront and handling your payments. 30% is not even close. Would you ok with the bank taking 20%, 25% for holding your money?
 
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Microsoft was in fact a monopoly at the time, and were ruled such by a federal judge.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/judge-rules-microsoft-a-monopoly

People keep using the monopoly term with incorrect understanding of what the term means in applicable law.

In commercial Law, a monopoly is not anyone making a unique product. IOW Ford is not a monopolist in Law, because only they make Ford Cars. There are other cars.

A monopoly is when you are effectively the sole provider of a good/service that has no close substitute.

Microsoft when the owned >95% of the market for all consumer computing devices was a monopoly, and legally determined to be one.

Apple with less than 30% of just mobile is certainly not a monopoly.

You are not a monopolist of your own products, just because only you build/control them. With that mentality nearly every consumer product company is a monopoly. That isn't how it works.

You have to have no close substitutes of significance. Android is certainly a significant close substitute.

FYI there are multiple "legal" terms of the word monopoly. The way you're defining it is just one of the many terms.

If it was as clear cut, you wouldn't have 2 camps here.
 
So in summary. Spotify wants Apple to host their app for free while paying artists some of the lowest rates of all services. Good luck with that Spotify. Sounds like desperation from a company that doesn’t know how to turn a profit.

P.S. As a cherry on top:
Since they do have a good service they are always in the top 10 music section which is free publicity. And often on the front page “top free” apps. Companies would gladly pay millions for this kind of exposure.....except poor Spotify.
 
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FYI there are multiple "legal" terms of the word monopoly. The way you're defining it is just one of the many terms.

If it was as clear cut, you wouldn't have 2 camps here.

The existence of two opinions, doesn't mean that it isn't clear cut.

The post I quoted claimed Microsoft did not have a Monopoly. That was clear cut wrong. Microsoft was in fact ruled to have a Monopoly.
 
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These manufacturers created the platform their "App" will be running on... whats the difference? Apple is allowing Apple Music on these third party devices because it knows it can make more money that way. If Apple thinks that is worth 30% why shouldn't they pay these companies?

Because that's very likely not the arrangement that was agreed to when the two parties started doing business together. You can't just toss all business logic out the window and distill this down to "Apple has their app on someone else's device, therefor they owe them because that's how they treat others". That's a fantastic defense here on MacRumors where you're arguing with strangers about things you don't understand. But out in the real world, you can't toss out the facts that don't suit your position. If I had to guess, I'd bet that Apple is most likely the one receiving the payments, not doing the paying. Apple knows it can make money? In the real world, the only reason two companies would have such an agreement in the first place would be because both parties think they can make money. Apple wouldn't put their stuff on someone else's platform if they expected to loose money and they wouldn't be invited if it wasn't believed that they wouldn't add value to the brand.

Plus, you're still not really understanding this. Apple does NOT take 30% to have your software on their store. That cost is actually $99/year. The 30% thing is Apple's fee to perform financial transactions on your behalf.

Whatever happened to knowing about the subject you're discussing? I'm constantly amazed at the crap people invent inside their own heads, then try to pass off as "facts". You seem to want to find an example of Apple being hypocrites, so you invent this situation and accuse them without any evidence they're actually not paying their dues, or that they owe in the first place. You know, "I bet people named James are genetically inferior when it comes to analytical thinking". See how easy it is to just make something up out of nothing in an effort to prove one's point?
 
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Please show me this alternate Switch/XBox/PS store where Nintendo/MS/Sony don't get their cut.

The argument isn't apple should get nothing. If devs use apples store, apple should get paid.

The argument is devs should be able to choose the store to sell in. Console devs can choose walmart, eb games, best buy, etc.
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Your definition of a monopoly is simply incorrect. Being the sole distribution system for your products does not make you a monopoly unless you can exert market power to set prices; which Apple cannot do

If apple changed the rules (which apple constantly does) to say they take a 50% cut now, Do you think app prices would stay the same or would some devs increase their app price to compensate?
 
$99/year is effectively free to businesses at this scale. There are no fees for the millions of downloads that Apple is hosting for them and it certainly costs Apple much more than $99/year for the service that Apple is providing, so they are costing Apple much more than they pay.

The same applies to Google's Play store. And you don't have to pay to be an Android developer. Nor are you forced to use very specific and expensive hardware (Mac) to develop for Android. Apple is using such an effective CDN for the AppStore, that the cost of app downloads are basically zero for them. Netflix charges $10 a month and consumes about 40% of the entire Internet bandwith. If you want to talk CDN costs, then let's use actual CDN consumption and costs. The App Store basically costs Apple zero by comparison to most "real" CDN usages.

The problem on these forums is that there is a lot of Apple defendants here. And most of the Apple defendants are technically inept or lack the knowledge or experience to actually talk about technical platforms, backbones, CDN networks, edge caching, and the costs of all this.

If you factor in the platform exclusivity that the App Store offers Apple, then the entire App Store itself has ZERO costs for Apple.
 
You are not a monopolist of your own products, just because only you build/control them

Apple doesnt have any creative input into making 3rd party iOS apps. Other companies make them. Apple wants to get a cut of something they have nothing to do with by inserting themselves as the shop keeper and forcing suppliers to use apples store.
 
So in summary. Spotify wants Apple to host their app for free while paying artists some of the lowest rates of all services. Good luck with that Spotify. Sounds like desperation from a company that doesn’t know how to turn a profit.

P.S. As a cherry on top:
Since they do have a good service they are always in the top 10 music section which is free publicity. And often on the front page “top free” apps. Companies would gladly pay millions for this kind of exposure.....except poor Spotify.
Not really. They want to have the same treatment as Uber who doesn't pay Tax for every App Store transaction.
 
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