Spotify has reportedly reached a special agreement with Google that allows it to bypass Play Store fees.
According to new testimony in the ongoing Epic v. Google trial, Spotify does not have to pay any commission to Google when users sign up for subscriptions using Spotify’s own payment system on Android. In addition, if users sign up for Spotify through Google, the music streaming service only pays a four percent commission, significantly less than the standard 15 percent charged by most apps through the Google Play Store.
In the trial, Epic Games accused Google’s Play Store of being an illegal monopoly that forced app developers to pay exorbitant fees for in-app purchases. Spotify initially supported Epic Games in its fight against Google and Apple, but in 2022, Spotify started using Google’s User Choice Billing program, which allows Android apps to use their own payment systems while giving a reduced cut to Google.
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The special deal between Spotify and Google demonstrates that Google is willing to make exceptions for popular apps like Spotify. It was also revealed in court that Google pays Apple 36 percent of all ad revenue generated through Apple’s Safari browser. The details of these agreements came to light as part of separate antitrust trials.
The ongoing Epic v. Google trial has shed light on Google’s business practices and agreements with various companies. It was also reported that Google offered Netflix a custom deal with a reduced commission of 10 percent, which Netflix declined. Instead, Netflix chose not to offer users a way to sign up for the service directly within its Android app.
In response to the revelations, Google defended its partnerships with certain developers, stating that these partnerships involve substantial financial investments and product integrations across different devices. Google claims that these partnerships help bring more users to Android and improve the overall experience for all users.
Source: The Verge