michael scrip

jonl said:

michael scrip said:

Spotify raised the price in the App Store versus what they charge on their own website.

Brian might feel like an idiot... but that was a decision made by Spotify.  I'm sure he's not the only person who didn't know about the two different prices.  But shame on Spotify for even putting their customers into this situation.

Netflix, on the other hand, charges the same in the App Store as they do on their website.  They just eat that cost. I haven't heard Netflix complain about it in countless articles... so perhaps they realize this is the cost of doing business.

Netflix, being a publicly traded company awarded an astronomical P/E multiple, may be better able to afford losing money on Apple signups. Maybe they have a better deal. I have no idea. What I do know is that Apple deserves something between Apple Pay levels and 1% for handling subscription billing, and nothing more. What they charge should be commensurate with the value they provide. Why is that so hard for clapping seals to understand?

As for what Spotify did, if Apple had allowed them to link to their web site, as they are able to do on TVs, BD players, Google Play, etc, the situation never would have arose. Before Apple Music, it was merely naked greed on Apple's part. Now, Apple is clearly engaging in anticompetitive behavior, and I hope they get burned for it if they don't hurry up and start behaving.

koop said:

michael scrip said:

Spotify raised the price in the App Store versus what they charge on their own website.

Brian might feel like an idiot... but that was a decision made by Spotify.  I'm sure he's not the only person who didn't know about the two different prices.  But shame on Spotify for even putting their customers into this situation.

Netflix, on the other hand, charges the same in the App Store as they do on their website.  They just eat that cost. I haven't heard Netflix complain about it in countless articles... so perhaps they realize this is the cost of doing business.

Weird. Can you tell me what on-demand video service Apple has released? No? Do you know the intricate details of Netflix profitability and sustainability with video vs music streaming companies like Spotify? 

Lots and lots of bloviating by the Apple crowd as usual. Stinks when you have and twist and contort yourself to make an argument.

jonl said:

michael scrip said:

Very true.  And Apple provides those services for all apps in the App Store.

If I buy a $10 app... Apple gets $3.  End of transaction.  Apple never asks for any more money because that $3 is supposed to cover the costs of the above services.

But $3 every month?

Other than the monthly swipe of the credit card (which is automated BTW)... what are they doing different than any other app in the App Store?

It's really very simple. Spotify, like Netflix and others, has its own billing department. It doesn't need Apple to facilitate charging for subscriptions. Their app should be able to send people to their web site to sign up just like when trying to use the app on a TV, BD player, etc.

The problem is, many users aren't aware of the rules. As I wrote earlier, Spotify has put out a sort of PSA, and I hope it educated a lot of people who Apple might otherwise have tricked into paying an exorbitant recurring tax to Apple. In fact, it did educate CNBC anchor Brian Sullivan, who stated at 2:44 EDT today that "he was one of the idiots who subscribed to Spotify through iTunes, and he's got to go back and fix that." Good for him!

The clapping seals supporting Apple in these threads are certainly concentrated here but few in number in the real world. Real people who hear about this are outraged and feel like idiots for paying Apple 30% more for nothing. They feel like Apple tricked them. Like Brian Sullivan, they're going to fix the problem.

why- said:

what's with the sudden rush of politically themed articles? 

nolamacguy said:

only on an online techie rumors forum would we bother to argue about whether a studio power problem for a show we'd never heard of on the other half of the world was staged or not. 

newsflash: things are complicated. who knows how their studio has its power systems designed and which part failed. the presence of overhead shop lights may very well have no bearing on the production equipment's power source.

wood1208 said:

Since IOS 10 will let you remove native/stock Apps and replace with the 3rd party Apps than iphone SE 16GB storage for the normal usage will not be as problematic as we think now. Those with lots of Apps,photos,videos will go with 64GB iphone SE so no debate their.