Even With Double the Subscribers, Spotify Says Apple Will Always Have an Edge Owning the App Store (techcrunch.com) 25
On Wednesday, Spotify filed for a direct listing in the U.S., sidestepping the traditional IPO process, and now we're starting to see some of the true financial guts of the company -- and some of the significant risks it faces from challenging services from Apple and Google. From a report: Apple, for example, charges apps a percentage of revenue for subscriptions processed through the App Store. Apple Music, meanwhile, will always deliver Apple 100 percent of the subscription revenue that it receives from subscribers (sans record fees and all that kind of stuff, of course). Apple, too, has a direct integration with its iOS devices and also a huge amount of brand recognition, even though Spotify is a massive service. Spotify says it has 159 million monthly active users and 71 million premium subscribers, while Apple has 36 million paying subscribers as of February 2018. Spotify said, "In addition, Apple and Google also own application store platforms and are charging in-application purchase fees, which are not being levied on their own applications, thus creating a competitive advantage for themselves against us. As the market for on-demand music on the internet and mobile and connected devices increases, new competitors, business models, and solutions are likely to emerge."
It is still surprising (Score:2)
that Apple doesn't give away their razors, and people are willing to pay a premium for the ability to pay for Apple App store goods...
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that Apple doesn't give away their razors, and people are willing to pay a premium for the ability to pay for Apple App store goods...
Give away their razors -- are you seriously talking about iPhones and iPads here?
The most popular apps on the App Store are for third-party companies, and many of them are free apps because they are used as doorways to services whose revenue comes from datamining and reselling info to markers (any social networking app), or are subscribed to in a separate manner (video service apps). People may be willing to spend more on iOS apps than Android when you're looking at the numbers, but the revenue from those a
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Apple does not have the home-grown popular services with recurring subscription revenue
No, it just has everyone else's popular services with recurring subscription revenue.
I'm all about Apple determining their own pricing structure and rules for their store, but prohibiting competing stores on *your* device should be illegal.
Scapegoat to the rescue! (Score:2)
Spotify said, "In addition, Apple and Google also own application store platforms and are charging in-application purchase fees, which are not being levied on their own applications, thus creating a competitive advantage for themselves against us..."
Sounds like lining up an excuse for investors.
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Spotify (Score:2)
Netflix - how you don't need to pay the app store (Score:2)
The article says that Apple "charges apps a percentage of revenue for subscriptions processed through the App Store". But what forces them to process the subscription through the app store???
Take Netflix as a good example - you don't subscribe on the app store. The app is completely free. You subscribe once using a credit card for payment, and then fill the account information on any number of devices your family has (tv boxes, phones, tablets, etc.). These devices do not even have to have - and often do no
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Impulsivity. You're listening to Spotify and they play an ad that drives you over the edge, so you consider getting their paid service. Well, if you're in the app to do it, Apple will get their cut. Otherwise spotify will ahve to make you visit their website, log in, enter all your payment information and then buy the s
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Apple (Score:1)