Apple Music under FTC investigation
Ping!
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
Posted on 09/24/2015 5:04:53 PM PDT by Swordmaker
The FTC has launched an investigation into Apple’s dealings with competing music streaming services in its App Store, according to multiple sources,” Micah Singleton reports for The Verge. “The investigation is targeting Apple’s 30 percent fee charged to subscription services who sign up new users through the App Store. This has been a major point of conflict between Apple and rival music services.”
“The FTC’s inquiries have picked up over the recent weeks, on the heels of its initial investigation into whether Apple pressured labels to kill Spotify’s free streaming tier,” Singleton reports. “Sources with direct knowledge of the matter tell The Verge that the FTC has already issued subpoenas to music streaming services as it gathers more information to determine whether Apple’s App Store rules are anticompetitive.”
“Apple’s App Store guidelines call for a 30 percent fee to be charged to any sales by a subscription service that signs up users through an iOS app and uses iAP, which is essentially every paid music streaming service,” Singleton reports. “Before Apple decided to get into the streaming game, its 30 percent tax was still a pain for music streaming services, but not a hindrance to competition, since everyone had to abide by the same rules. But now that Apple Music is available, the world’s largest company has put itself directly in the FTC’s line of fire.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Once again, hard-nosed competition is not illegal. This is business, not Kumbaya ’round the campfire.
If Spotify, Rdio, Rhapsody, Tidal and Pandora don’t like Apple’s App Store terms, they are free to market their wares to non-iOS users. Surely their “freemium” offering will be in very high demand among the skinflint set who have proven more than willing to surrender their privacy and personal date in exchange for what they erroneously think is “free.”
As myopic “analysts” like to repeatedly tell each other on CNBC, Apple’s iOS market share is dwarfed by Android, that amazing and wondrous OS that delivers not only a poor facsimile of iOS and 99% of all mobile malware, but also exceedingly profitless results for knockoff peddlers the world over. Therefore, Apple clearly does not have a monopoly in smartphones — only in brilliantphones — so there’s simply no monopoly to abuse.
Spotify and the rest of the also-rans: Go peddle your outmoded, inferior crap to the billion+ fragmandroid settlers if you don’t like Apple’s App Store terms. Knock yourselves out.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
I like the arrogant tone of your AppleBot source. These pukes are Obama voters.
You're saying that Obama was elected solely by Apple users?
And the AppleBot beat goes on. Its amazing the similar arrogant tone of Mr. Sword, similar to this articles tone. AppleBot Babbittism at its finest
Hmmmmm. In what way is that very pro-Capitalist, Pro-conservative Pro-business, anti-Administration DOJ, statement construed by you to be pro-Obama? You, as usual are either delusional or lying.
MacDailyNews.com is often accused by the liberal posters of comments as being in the tank for the Right Wing . . .and conservatives. It's one of the reasons I like it as a source. LOL!
**We've previously established that dennisw has other psychological problems
Apple employees in America voted for Obama by 90%. Nuff said!
I don’t doubt that, as most are in California, but how was that stat determined?
Its my extrapolation..... an edumacated guess. None of those workers at an Apple genius bar looks like he/she ever voted Republican. They are either Obama voters or they just don’t vote. Tim Cook is definitely an Obama voter and so is Jonathon Ive if he votes here
John has frequently tried to set up a meeting with Putin during his visits to Russia, which made him more susceptible to the prank. In November 2014, the performer spoke out against Russia’s homophobia during a concert in St. Petersburg after a statue of Steve Jobs was taken down because Apple’s current CEO Tim Cook came out as gay.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.