The problem with all of this is Apple does not have a monopoly. There are plenty of viable alternatives to using Apple products, namely Android. A user is making a choice to be in Apple's walled garden. Developers are making a choice to access that market. This is the problem with the EU's initial conclusion as well. They claim Apple has a monopoly for "iPhones and iPads." That's like saying Toyota has a monopoly on Camrys and Rav4s. Their reasoning...that people won't change devices just because things are more expensive, blows their entire conclusion out of the water. The consumer is actively making a choice. Moreover, the notion that Apple's system has somehow harmed consumers, developers or innovation is comical. The entire ecosystem (including GooglePlay) wouldn't even exist without Apple. Apple literally created the entire market.
Form an end user perspective this is correct. But from an app developer point of view the App store is a monopoly: it is the only allowed way an app developer can distribute his iOS app.
Making an app only for Android is in most case commercially not an option. A lot of apps only make sense if they run on all popular platforms.
That's not how monopolies work. App developers can choose not to put their app on iOS, and they can choose to sell on other platforms. Certainly there are some that don't sell on iOS, just as there are some that only create apps for iOS. There are millions of potential customers available via Android, Windows, X-Box, or other game platforms. Just because a developer doesn't like the terms at any given one of those does not mean that the platform represents a monopoly.
I am an app developer and my most successful app is an e-voting system used during general assemblies of large organizations and companies. The customers (the organizations) are requesting that the app must support all eligible voters, independent of the device of the voters. This means that my app must be available on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac (and some require also Linux). An IOS only or an Android only e-voting app is commercially seen suicide: I would have $0 sales .
I assume that Spotify can only attract artists to its platform if Spotify can guarantee that all people can listen to these artists and not the IOS users only or the Android users only. It might even be that this is the main reason that Apple Music is available on Android.
But with Spotify, not in your case, they have a FREE app from which iOS users can listen to music with their Spotify account. Apple only charges a commission if an iOS user pays for their subscription on their iOS platform using the iOS app. All the Spotify customers that pays for their subscription on Android or on Spotify website or through automatic CC charge every month, can still use iOS to listen to their music while not incurring a charge to themselves or to Spotify. How in the name of Hell, do Spotify not have access to iOS users?
Let me ask you this, with your app that must support many platforms, ..... What is the difference between you having to pay a commission in the Google Play Store and having to pay a commission in the Apple App Store? Or are you going to say that with your Android customers, you have a choice of having your customers side load your app from your website? LOL, good luck with that.
Not even Epic was happy with he amount of profit they were making by allowing Fortnight to be side loaded on Android through their website or installed from their party Epic Game Store on Android. After a year and a half, they put "Fortnight" in the Google Play Store and made more profit, even after paying Google the commission and not charging any more for the game V-Bucks. And even after having several ways to access Android users, Epic is still suing Google for a "monopoly" they have with the Google Play Store. Epic knows less about what a "monopoly" is, than you do.
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Let me ask you this, with your app that must support many platforms, ..... What is the difference between you having to pay a commission in the Google Play Store and having to pay a commission in the Apple App Store? Or are you going to say that with your Android customers, you have a choice of having your customers side load your app from your website? LOL, good luck with that.
Not even Epic was happy with he amount of profit they were making by allowing Fortnight to be side loaded on Android through their website or installed from their party Epic Game Store on Android. After a year and a half, they put "Fortnight" in the Google Play Store and made more profit, even after paying Google the commission and not charging any more for the game V-Bucks. And even after having several ways to access Android users, Epic is still suing Google for a "monopoly" they have with the Google Play Store. Epic knows less about what a "monopoly" is, than you do.
https://bgr.com/tech/fortnite-for-android-download-no-google-play-security-risks-5643156/
https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/21/21229943/epic-games-fortnite-google-play-store-available-third-party-software
https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/13/21368363/epic-google-fortnite-lawsuit-antitrust-app-play-store-apple-removal