Amazon Video does not sell anything in-app in their iOS app. In fact, one of Apple’s highly promoted tvOS apps, Sling TV, does not sell an in-app subscription. Even with Apple’s three-month free trial, Spotify managed to attract almost as many paying subscribers in the same amount of time.Īpple Allows Other Apps to Ignore In-App Purchase RequirementĪ lot of iOS apps don’t sell subscriptions as in-app purchases. Spotify’s user base has grown almost as much as Apple’s since Apple Music was launched. Unfortunately, they have been unable to do this by creating a better product. This practice can only continue and be profitable if Apple manages to dominate the music streaming industry. There are some exceptions, as Apple has managed to make deals with artists for temporary exclusivity. Rights holders are more inclined to sign exclusive deals with services that can provide the highest revenues. The more subscribers, the higher the revenues. The basic business model is that, after costs, the streaming music service pays proportional revenues back to rights holders. This is due to the fact that artists make more money when a streaming service has more subscribers. There are numerous players for now, but this will change.

The streaming music business is a winner-take-all competition. Apple’s interest in acquiring Tidal seems to indicate that they are trying to build another monopoly.

The move could put Apple under antitrust scrutiny. There is an emerging consensus that Apple has gone too far and this is a purely competitive moved aimed at wiping out Spotify. Major media outlets have been critical of Apple’s move, including ReCode and CBS News.

Apple claims that Spotify needs to follow the rules and that there are high costs involved in running the App Store. Their legal representatives exchanged correspondence about the issue. Apple recently blocked a Spotify iOS app update, as the streaming music giant removed App Store in-app purchasing.

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