Spotify lashed out against Apple and the AppStore policies, namely the Apple tax. There are more claims, really venting about the app experience on iOS as well as conflict in competition.
They are not alone. BaseCamp generated buzz about Apple's AppStore practices when it's Hey.com app was rejected.
I just got a MacBook Pro and I can’t find Spotify on the App Store × Close We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By using our website you agree to. Part 3 Sync Spotify music to your Apple Watch. Add the converted Spotify songs to your Apple Watch by syncing them. After you sync, you can play the Spotify music on your Apple Watch without your iPhone. Set your Apple Watch on its charger and make sure that the device is charging. On your iPhone, go to Settings Bluetooth.
Collectively the Spotify claims point out major issues not only with Apple's AppStore, but mobile app store distribution issues.
Spotify has made a dedicated website to express their arguments call Time to Play Fair.
The store model is not favorable to the businesses developing native apps and many are questioning if they really need applications as more and more are migrating their client strategies to progressive web applications.
'In recent years, Apple has introduced rules to the App Store that purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience—essentially acting as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers.' Daniel Ek
According to research done by the New York Times Ek and Spotify are not the only company hurt by Apple's App Store practices. The study shows that since Apple began placing its own apps in the App Store Apple has dominated many of the most popular search terms. What's worse is the search results have been stacked with Apple apps not related to the search intent.
But as Apple has become one of the largest competitors on a platform that it controls, suspicions that the company has been tipping the scales in its own favor are at the heart of antitrust complaints in the United States, Europe and Russia.
New York Times
Let me list Spotify's claims:
- 30% Purchase Tax
- Limiting Communication with Users that Pay Outside the AppStore
- Blocking Experience Enhancing Upgrade
- Routinely Blocking Application Updates
- Locking Competitors out of Siri, HomePod, and Apple Watch
- Apple Customers Do Not Have A Payment Choice
Apple released a response to Ek's claims, which of course denies everything.
'At its core, the App Store is a safe, secure platform where users can have faith in the apps they discover and the transactions they make. And developers, from first-time engineers to larger companies, can rest assured that everyone is playing by the same set of rules. ' - Apple
I am not someone who knows the details of the interactions between Apple and Spotify. So I can't speak to the availability of the platform features and what payouts the services make to the artists.
I do know more and more application brands are phasing out their dependence on app stores and migrating to a PWA strategy. Netflix fired a brutal punch to Apple over Christmas when they pulled the ability for new subscriptions to use Apple as a payment service.
Netflix earned over $850M in subscriptions via the AppStore in 2018, generating between $130 and $260M for Apple. In fact subscription services like Netflix and Spotify generate a significant amount of AppStore revenue, approximately $3.7B from the top 10 apps to be fair.
The disagreement only heightens the appeal progressive web applications have, even on iOS, where support is still somewhat limited.
I am receiving an increasing number of inquiries about replacing native apps with PWAs. Many fear issues highlighted by Spotify's claims. Others have either suffered a '4.2.6' removal or denial.
The more I discuss the merits of progressive web applications over native apps with clients and potential clients I have formulated a simple way to determine if you should develop and ship a mobile app:
'Does your app help sell iPhones or generate significant store revenue for Apple?'
Download spotify lite premium apk. If your answer is yes then you should think about developing an app. Otherwise a progressive web app is probably your better choice.
Why Hasn't Spotify Gone to a Progressive Web Application?
If you are wondering, Spotify offers a progressive web application option. Why they don’t use this as there primary path to ‘install’ their experience I don’t know.
Traditionally brands were trained to think consumers want apps over web-based experiences.
This fails to account for current trends. The web has caught up to native applications in feature parity for just about everything. For a music-based application like Spotify all the pieces are in place to be a web-based experience that matches their current native application.
We also know that consumers are tired of mobile apps. Today no one downloads apps anymore. Sure there are app downloads, but by and large the fad has ended. Most app downloads are to new phones, ‘restoring’ a user’s existing apps.
Outside of frivolous games native apps have simply fallen out of favor by most.
For established brands, like Spotify, have a large base of customers using their existing app. It will be difficult to wean them off the native app to the PWA solution.
Ultimately this means they have to weigh the costs and benefits for maintaining native apps, with the AppStore tax against potential customer churn in changing their interface to the web.
Right now there are many large brands taking that journey. Uber, Lyft, Twitter and others are in the process of moving to a progressive web app solution. Most have PWAs with feature parity to their native apps. They typically have moved to a PWA as the client code base and use a hybrid wrapper like Cordova to put the solution in the store.
This is the problem when you chose to go the way of a closed solution, native apps over an open solution, web. While native apps certainly were popular years ago, that has run its course and now presents an impediment to growing a profitable business.
Why Doesn't Spotify Eliminate AppStore Payments?
I can't speak for Spotify, but I would do exactly what Netflix did.
ApplePay is just one payment provider. The web has been monetized for 25+ years. I have built numerous sites with real-time credit card, ACH, PayPal and other payment providers.
Today the options have increased even more with cryptocurrencies and other more modern methods.
The Payment Request API make this integration and experience even easier. You can even make yourself a payment provider with the new Payment Handler API.
For the record Safari does support the Payment Request API and you can use ApplePay in the other browsers as well as Android Pay and Microsoft Pay.
The ability to receive money online are easier than ever, even on a website. Mobile apps do not have a monopoly on montetization.
And here is the thing, credit card transactions cost less than 3%, even for the more expensive providers. Generally the transaction fee is 1-2.5%.
This is much, much lower than the 30% Apple takes when someone buys a digital good or service through your app.
This is something I have never understood, why would any business be happy with a third party taking a 30% cut of their pre-tax revenues?
Apple's tax laws are 30% of all sales, except for subscriptions. The first year of a subscription has the 30% penalty, it then drops to 15%. The fee only applies to digital goods purchased through the app, not physical goods.
Does Apple really offer that much value? Could these businesses succeed through the web?
I say of course they could.
Paul Thurrott recently made a good point about IAP and Apple's policies after Apple blocked Hey.com's new app.
'This would be acceptable if Apple allowed app makers to use other IAP payment systems, which they do not, or if Apple even allowed app makers to just communicate that they could pay this fee on the Basecamp website. But they don’t even allowthat. And that, of course, is where Hey 1.0.1 ran afoul of Apple’s incredibly tone-deaf policies: Basecamp had the temerity to put a note in its own app explaining that users could go to the web and pay there instead.'
- Paul Thurrott
A Quick Review of AppStore Revenues - Who Actually Makes Money?
Apple and Google makes billions through their mobile app stores. There is no denying the revenue amounts.
Sensor Tower seems to be the consensus reporting service when it comes to app popularity and revenues. So I will use their numbers as examples.
Lets start with the subscription apps like Spotify, which by the way is not in the top 10, so I could not find actual revenue numbers.
I already shared the estimated $850M Netflix made last year. Here is a list of the top 10 subscription based services iOS revenues from 1/2018-11/2018 (so not including December revenues):
- Hulu $132.2M
- QQ $159.7M
- YouKu $192.9M
- Pandora $225.7M
- YouTube $244.2M
- Kwai $264.5M
- Tinder $462.2M
- Tencent $490.0M
- Netflix $790.2M
Notice how half of these apps are Chinese?
I should also not that Tinder has released a PWA which is getting great engagement. I expect them to start phasing out their app like other platforms soon.
Tinder is also the only non-media streaming app. If you look at the top dating apps the next 4 account for $235M.
These 10 apps account for about 10% of the overall AppStore revenues, which speaks volumes to me.
Note this list does not include the Major League Baseball package, which I also know drives millions in revenue each season. But the point is streaming subscription services account for a large percentage of Apple's revenue.
Mobile games account for 77% of app store revenues, about $55 billion. That leaves about $16.6 billion for other apps. A large chunk of that is subscription services.
For the record games account for the majority of app downloads too.
So if you are making a game, then mobile apps are probably a reasonable avenue. https://catholictree220.weebly.com/blog/free-mobile-apps-similar-to-spotify.
A recent stat shared on CNBC says Apple claims to have generated $155 trillion USD in sales since AppStore creation. That is distributed among 23 million developers. This means the average developer has earned around $6700 over the last decade.
That is not much at all. Of course we know the bulk of the revenue was earned by the top 1% or so applications. We know very few apps are downloaded and even fewer used more than once. Hence 1% or fewer actually earn revenue.
Apple's Advantage Against Competition
Another argument Spotify makes against Apple is their distinct advantage over competition like Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, etc. These non-Apple services have to pay the Apple tax, and Apple does not. This means Apple is immediately more profitable than the competition can hope to be.
The other advantage is Apple can hold up their application updates, deployments and of course access to undocumented APIs. I can't say if Apple has restricted access to APIs or not, so I wont comment much on that. But I could see them doing this, others have in the past.
I do know Apple does create lots of frustration and friction for deploying apps to the store. This includes new applications and updates.
The 4.2.6 rule gives them free range to almost 'randomly' reject any app anytime they feel like doing so. Personally I think they made the rule intentionally vague so they could create artificial interference with apps they just don't like.
Of course Apple claims they create a safe, trusted environment for their customers, etc. The web is a safe place. One of the reasons web standards take so long to bake and implement is the fight for secure implementations. So I don't see any real 'security' advantage native apps have over the web.
Here's the thing..
Should you outsource the control of your app or your business to a third party like this? It is not always clear, but in most cases no. There is too much to risk.
What if they cut you off, without warning?
You're done.
And Apple does have a history of doing just that.
But they can also make it difficult for you to even deploy updates. I know I have spoken to numerous developers and companies since the AppStore was created lament the fact that even under perfect circumstances it takes 2 weeks to get an update deployed to fix a bug.
Blocking updates is another major aspect of Spotify's complaints. I know they are not alone, I talk to app owners all the time that express frustration with long update cycles and rejections. It is a trail of frustration for many.
On the web, you find a bug, fix it and deploy an update as fast as you can. That could literally be a couple of minutes to just under an hour if you have your ducks in a row, and it is not a major bug of course.
I know some sites update 1500 or more times a day. Try that with your native app.
Apple Responds, but Doesn't Provide a Good Argument
Apple has stepped up its public response to Spotify by posting its own page on the controversy.
In this response Apple claims it owns the store and puts forth the effort to only have high quality apps that are safe and secure.
I have no issue with the notion of safe, secure and protecting privacy. The web has all that as well, so the AppStore has no advantage here.
The real problem lies in their ambiguous App Store Review Guidelines. Of course, in those guidelines they specific an app must be ‘app-like’. This is where they reserve judgement to kick any app they simple do not like.
In their principles and practices response Apple also proudly shares the fact they reject an average of 40,000 app submissions and updates each week. That is 40% of the weekly app submissions.
They also field over 1000 appeals for rejections or removals.
Compare this to the web which allows unlimited deployments a day. Some applications update as many as 1500 times a day.
Deploy a bug, it sucks, but I can quickly fix and redeploy. Sometimes these updates can deploy within minutes.
Good luck doing that with Apple in the way. Developers I speak with tell me they expect 2-4 weeks before bug deployments are actually released in the store.
Not to mention you are subject to the Apple censors to determine if your app is worthy of being presented to consumers. They really do not believe in consumer choice, it is their choice to determine what is best for the consumer.
On top of that they make it difficult to compete with the apps that ship with the iPhone and iPad.
Summing It Up
I get why Spotify has filed a complaint. I don't like they decided to get a government entity involved to fight their battle.
They and other streaming services should be brave enough to follow Netlix's lead and just abandon app store payment as an option.
Spotify should also start an aggressive path toward becoming a progressive web application. I realize there may be a technical hurdle for now preventing a good mobile experience, but that can be overcome with some effort. This is one of the very, very few edge cases where an app is limited to native. 99% aren't.
The video streaming services don't really need native apps. So for now Netflix and other video streaming services have the freedom to migrate from their native apps and the restrictions imposed by the stores.
Audio services are still at a disadvantage until we get a supported API to allow audio to play after the lock screen engages.
This is a great opportunity and incentive for Spotify, Pandora, Audible, Stitcher and other audio services to join the W3C working groups and help define a specification to allow audio to play as a background service in the browser.
Spotify is not profitable at the moment and at a disadvantage on iOS because Apple does not have the 30% tax imposed on themselves.
But that is Apple's prerogative, it is their platform they can do what they want. By supporting a common standard on the web Spotify could move away from Apple's platform and maybe force Apple to add support for a great new capability.
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What bitrate does Spotify stream at? This is might be the first question that you may take a deep consideration before choosing Spotify music as your music streaming service. Generally speaking, you may have known that 320kbps is the highest streaming quality that you can get from Spotify, but I guess, you may be unclear on how can you get it. Don't worry, here is the full introduction of the Spotify bitrate comes for you.
In this post, we will share you with the details of the bitrate of Spotify free and Premium and the full tutorial to adjust Spotify bitrate for enjoying the lossless audio streaming service. Apart from this, you will get extra tips on how to get Spotify music downloaded with high quality. Curious, right? Let's get started with the first part: What bitrate is Spotify use?
Related Reading:
Part 1. What Bitrate Does Spotify Stream At?
Spotify offers automatic, low, normal, high, and very high quality with different bitrates for different users by formatting the music as OGG Vorbis format. Following is the full table about all the bitrates that Spotify streaming at.
Bitrates | Streaming Quality | Free or Premium | Platforms |
24 kbps | Low | Both | Desktop, mobile and tablet |
96 kbps | Normal | Both | Desktop, mobile and tablet |
128 kbps | Normal | Free | Web Player (AAC) |
160 kbps | High | Both | Desktop, mobile and tablet |
256 kbps | High | Premium | Web Player (AAC) |
320 kbps | Very High | Premium | Desktop, mobile and tablet |
Pay Attention: Low Streaming Quality isn't available on the Windows desktop app. |
According to the table above, the highest bitrate for Spotify Free users is 160kbps while the highest for premium users is 320 kbps. After learning about the Spotify bitrate, you can set about setting the Spotify bitrates to enjoy the high quality of Spotify. Keep reading.
Part 2. How to Get High Quality Streaming on Spotify?
There are two ways for you to enjoy high quality on Spotify. The first method is to set the high quality, and the second is to use Spotify equalizer. Take these 2 methods together will be better for you to get lossless audio.
Method 1. How to Set High Music Quality on Spotify
Following we will take the Windows as an example. If you want to enjoy high music quality on your Mobile devices or MacBook, you can also follow the same operation to make it. Downloading the Spotify app first to prepare the following operation.
One Step to Set Your Music Quality on Spotify
- Run the Spotify app on your computer or mobile devices, and the whole main interface of Spotify will appear. Now click to 'Down-arrow' button to enter the Settings page.
- On the Settings page, scroll down to 'Music Quality'. Under the Music Quality, there is 'Streaming quality'. Hit to the 'Down-arrow' button to choose the high quality. Spotify Free users can choose 160 kbps high quality while Premium users 320 kbps.
If the high quality doesn't suit your needs on enjoying Spotify, then you can set the Spotify Equalizer to enhance the sound quality.
Method 2. How to Set Music Equalizer for Enjoying Spotify Music
Spotify equalizer is only available on mobile devices. In this post, we will take the iPhone 7 as an example. Operations are the same on Android and other mobile devices.
Two-Step to Use Music Equalizer for Enjoying Spotify Music
Step 1. Open Settings page of Spotify Music
- Run the Spotify app on your Mobile. On the main interface of Spotify, hit the 'Gear' button to enter the Settings page, where you can see various settings for Spotify.
Step 2. Choose Your Favorite Music Equalizers of Spotify
- On the Spotify Settings page, click to 'Playback' for the following operation. Scroll down to 'Equalizer' then press the 'Button' to open the Spotify equalizer. As a Hip-hop fan, I will choose Hip-hop as my music equalizer of Spotify.
After learning how to enjoy lossless audio from Spotify, we would like to share you with an extra tips to fulfill your needs on the lossless audio streaming of Spotify. Keep reading to get the ultimate lossless audio streaming service from Spotify.
Extra Tips: How to Get Spotify Music Downloaded with High-Quality Bitrate?
As a premium users, you just need to press the button to get your music fully downloaded with the same bitrate. However, even though you have fully downloaded, the music is kept in cached files. Even harder if you are Spotify Free member. Here we would like to give you an extra tips on getting Spotify music downloaded with high and lossless audio parameter. So that Premium subscribers can enjoy 320Kbps sound quality while Free 160kbps.
To download Spotify Music for free, a best Spotify Music converter or downloader is required. And TuneFab Spotify Music Converter is such a handy music converter as well as high quality music downloader for both Spotify Free and Premium to download Spotify Music, playlists, albums and more with high quality (For Spotify Premium, reach up to 320 kbps, for Free users, reach up to 160 kbps) to various and common music file formats like MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC and more. Learn more from the following features of the TuneFab Spotify Music Converter.
Features of TuneFab Spotify Music Converter:
- Cover all kinds of Spotify music: tracks, songs, playlists, albums, audiobooks, even podcasts (Mac only), and more.
- Download Spotify music and store as common audio formats: MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, OGG, AIFF (Mac only).
- Superfast conversion speed to speed up the whole conversion: 5X conversion speed. (Windows Only)
- Spotify Bitrate and sample rate can be adjusted as per your need. For example, the maximum reaches up to 320 kbps, satisfy Spotify Free and Premium needs.
- Various output settings are available for options.
- Keep original audio quality with metadata and ID3 tags preserved.
- Fully compatible with Windows 10/8/7 and macOS 10.10 to 10.15.
- Dig out more.
We will take Windows as an example. If you are running the macOS system, please keep reading since the whole operation is the same.
Step 1. Run TuneFab Spotify Music Converter
- Choose the right version from the button above to download and install TuneFab Spotify Music Converter on your computer. After the installation is over, hit the 'iCon' to run it on your computer. Then you will see the main interface as follow.
Step 2. Add Spotify Music/Playlists/Albums to Spotify Music Converter
- On the main interface of Spotify Music Converter, there is an 'Add Files' button. Click to 'Add Files' button, then you can add the Spotify music by copying the Spotify URL and paste it onto the main interface or dragging the Spotify Playlists/Albums and dropping them onto the Spotify Music Converter.
- We highly recommend Spotify users to add Spotify Music via dragging and dropping methods. When all the music has successfully added, bear in mind to click on to 'Add' again.
Step 3. Set Output Folder & Output Format
- Now, click to 'Options', next to 'Add Files' to set your output settings.
- On the 'General' tag, you can choose the output folder and customize the output files. Hit the 'Select…' button, you can choose the output folder according to your need. If you don't make any changes, then all the Spotify music will be stored in the default output folder.
- Move to the below of Output Folder, you can see 'Output Files', where you can customize the way that your output files display. Besides you can choose the sorting way of the output folders like Album. More output file settings are available to select as per your needs.
- Now, move to the 'Advanced' tag, next to the 'General'. On the Advanced page, you can adjust the conversion speed, reaches up to 5X, and Spotify bitrates and more. Besides, you can choose audio formats from the drop-down list. MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, OGG are available for selection.
Spotify Free Download
Tips: We highly recommend choosing MP3 or M4A with 320Kbps bitrates and 44100 Hz for output the high audio quality.
Step 4. Download Spotify Music with High-Quality Preserved
Spotify Music Free Download
You are one step closer to fully download Spotify Music now. Just click to 'Convert' and then to download Spotify Music with High Quality. Just waiting for several minutes, then you can enjoy Spotify Music with high quality fully downloaded.
That's all for today. It is time for you to make up your mind on choosing your favorite music bitrate that you want to enjoy on your Spotify Music, one of the best streaming services. However, no matter what bitrate you may be going to choose, I am sure that you can free from the problem with downloading Spotify Music with the High quality now. Thanks for reading, hope you will enjoy Spotify freely right here. See you!