For those that want context: https://www.resetera.com/threads/spotify-files-antitrust-complaint-against-apple-in-eu.105086/
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/addressing-spotifys-claims/
A shockingly direct reply, wasn't expecting that at all. Much more at the link, of course.
I felt like it was alright to quote a bit more than I usually would, since this isn't an article but a PR statement. Mods let me know if that's not cool.
At its core, the App Store is a safe, secure platform where users can have faith in the apps they discover and the transactions they make. And developers, from first-time engineers to larger companies, can rest assured that everyone is playing by the same set of rules.
That's how it should be. We want more app businesses to thrive — including the ones that compete with some aspect of our business, because they drive us to be better.
What Spotify is demanding is something very different. After using the App Store for years to dramatically grow their business, Spotify seeks to keep all the benefits of the App Store ecosystem — including the substantial revenue that they draw from the App Store's customers — without making any contributions to that marketplace. At the same time, they distribute the music you love while making ever-smaller contributions to the artists, musicians and songwriters who create it — even going so far as to take these creators to court.
Spotify claims we're blocking their access to products and updates to their app.
Let's clear this one up right away. We've approved and distributed nearly 200 app updates on Spotify's behalf, resulting in over 300 million downloaded copies of the Spotify app. The only time we have requested adjustments is when Spotify has tried to sidestep the same rules that every other app follows.
We've worked with Spotify frequently to help them bring their service to more devices and platforms:
Spotify is free to build apps for — and compete on — our products and platforms, and we hope they do.
- When we reached out to Spotify about Siri and AirPlay 2 support on several occasions, they've told us they're working on it, and we stand ready to help them where we can.
- Spotify is deeply integrated into platforms like CarPlay, and they have access to the same app development tools and resources that any other developer has.
- We found Spotify's claims about Apple Watch especially surprising. When Spotify submitted their Apple Watch app in September 2018, we reviewed and approved it with the same process and speed with which we would any other app. In fact, the Spotify Watch app is currently the No. 1 app in the Watch Music category.
Spotify wants all the benefits of a free app without being free.
A full 84 percent of the apps in the App Store pay nothing to Apple when you download or use the app. That's not discrimination, as Spotify claims; it's by design:
The only contribution that Apple requires is for digital goods and services that are purchased inside the app using our secure in-app purchase system. As Spotify points out, that revenue share is 30 percent for the first year of an annual subscription — but they left out that it drops to 15 percent in the years after.
- Apps that are free to you aren't charged by Apple.
- Apps that earn revenue exclusively through advertising — like some of your favorite free games — aren't charged by Apple.
- App business transactions where users sign up or purchase digital goods outside the app aren't charged by Apple.
- Apps that sell physical goods — including ride-hailing and food delivery services, to name a few — aren't charged by Apple.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/addressing-spotifys-claims/
A shockingly direct reply, wasn't expecting that at all. Much more at the link, of course.
I felt like it was alright to quote a bit more than I usually would, since this isn't an article but a PR statement. Mods let me know if that's not cool.