AfterDawn: Tech news

FTC looking into Apple's treatment of rival music streaming services in Apple App Store

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Jul 2015 3:26 User comments (2)

FTC looking into Apple's treatment of rival music streaming services in Apple App Store The U.S. FTC has begun an initial investigation into Apple's treatment of rival music streaming apps and whether the practices are illegal under current antitrust law.
Apple takes a 30 percent cut on every in-app purchase for digital goods, including streaming subscriptions, causing a big issue for companies like Spotify, Deezer and Rdio.

Each streaming service charges $9.99 a month for a premium subscription but with Apple taking a 30 percent cut, many of the services have complained that they have to raise their rates, which then in turn makes them non-competitive in the marketplace. If they do not raise the price, most of their margins are gone after Apple takes their cut.

The FTC has had multiple meetings with "concerned parties" and will likely start a formal investigation in time.

Source:
Reuters

Previous Next  

2 user comments

113.7.2015 15:13

I didn't even realize in app purchases were an option for those streaming services. If they're that worried about losing 30%, why do they use in app purchases?

216.7.2015 12:54

Originally posted by SuperSVGA:
I didn't even realize in app purchases were an option for those streaming services. If they're that worried about losing 30%, why do they use in app purchases?

Because you can purchase a subscription to each service from within their streaming app.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments
How to Enable Bluetooth on Stadia Controller How to Enable Bluetooth on Stadia Controller (11 Feb 2023 1:04)
Google shut down its streaming game service Stadia late last month and this means that some people have Stadia controllers lying around that seem to be of no use. That is fortunately not the ....
2 user comments
Guide: How to Kick Unwanted Guests from Your Netflix Account Guide: How to Kick Unwanted Guests from Your Netflix Account (26 Jan 2023 2:14)
Sharing a Netflix account with a person in a different location is possible and indeed very common, although the company doesn't necessarily enjoy this behavior from their customers. However, ....

News archive