Google executive says Spotify allowed to bypass Play Store fees as part of confidential deal

Google allowed spotify A company executive reportedly confirmed this while testifying during the ongoing Epic vs. Google trial, to circumvent the company’s mandatory Play Store fees. The Verge reports that a confidential deal with the streaming giant has emerged, revealing that Spotify was allowed to process its own payments on the service without paying commission to Google. The search giant previously sought to keep the details of its deal with Spotify secret during its ongoing case with Fortnite maker Epic Games.

According to reportGoogle’s head of partnerships Don Harrison testified during the ongoing trial. epic vs google The trial found that when Spotify processed customer payments itself it did not charge the company any fees. If customers choose to pay Spotify through Google’s in-app billing service, the platform pays Google a 4 percent commission.

Google charges a 15 percent cut of all app purchases and in-app purchases from most publishers on its platform, but that figure can be reduced in South Korea, India, and 35 other countries where the company offers developers an option to Is – User Choice Billing – This reduces the commission by 4 percent.

The report states that in addition to the popularity of music streaming platforms AndroidThe Google executive also testified that the search giant and Spotify had agreed to a “success fund” under which each company would commit $50 million (roughly Rs. 410 crores).

It’s worth noting that while Spotify may receive special treatment from Google, the company is still liable to pay in-app purchase commissions on Apple’s App Store — which can go as high as 30 percent on each transaction. Like Netflix And like many other services, the streaming service doesn’t allow users to purchase a subscription through the Spotify app on iOS.

It is too early to tell whether these revelations will have an impact on Epic Games’ case against Google. Game publisher sued both Apple and on Google’s alleged antitrust practices, including blocking the use of alternative billing systems and alternative app stores on iOS and Android, respectively. The test revealed a number of interesting details about Google and other companies — including Billion dollar deal with Samsung Keeping the Play Store, Assistant, and Search apps as default on Galaxy smartphones.

The Epic vs. Apple trial ended earlier this year when the Ninth Circuit Court affirmed a 2021 ruling that found the iPhone maker’s ban on competing app stores on iOS illegal. Did not violate US antitrust laws, Apple lost only one claim in the trial – that the firm would have to allow developers to allow links to external payment systems inside their apps. is epic appealed the decision While in the US Supreme Court, Apple has asked the court to vacate the Ninth Circuit Court order blocking its anti-steering rules.


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