Google admits Spotify pays no Play Store fees because of a secret deal

A Google executive said during a grounds successful nan Epic vs Google proceedings that a woody pinch Spotify allows nan audio institution to bypass Play Store fees, arsenic reported by The Verge.

Don Harrison, Google’s caput of partnership, said that Spotify pays nary fees erstwhile it processes its ain payments and pays a measly 4% interest erstwhile Google processes them, nan publication noted. He besides said that some companies person committed to put $50 cardinal each successful a “success fund.”

The specifications surfaced coming aft Google requested nan tribunal to support nan specifics of its deal pinch Spotify sealed earlier successful nan month.

Google typically takes a 15% trim connected subscription apps. This interest could beryllium reduced to 11% owed to programs for illustration personification prime billing, which allows developers to usage their ain aliases third-party costs solutions.

“A mini number of developers that put much straight successful Android and Play whitethorn person different work fees arsenic portion of a broader business that includes important financial investments and merchandise integrations crossed different shape factors. These cardinal finance partnerships let america to bring much users to Android and Play by continuously improving nan acquisition for each users and creating caller opportunities for each developers,” Google spokesperson Dan Jackson said successful a statement.

Google has tried to onslaught akin Play Store deals pinch ample companies arsenic well. Earlier this month, The Verge reported that nan hunt elephantine offered Netflix a woody successful 2017 to conscionable salary a 10% interest connected Play Store for subscriptions. Netflix doesn’t let users to bargain subscriptions done nan Android app astatine nan moment.

Last month, nan Mountain View-based institution reached a colony pinch nan Match Group to fto nan making love app elephantine usage third-party billing solutions connected nan Play Store. Match Group’s rival Bumble was portion of the personification prime billing programme aviator started successful November 2022.

Epic, however, rejected Google’s offers to adopt personification prime billing and went to proceedings earlier this month. The proceedings has uncovered galore details astir Google Play Store’s soul workings. For example, successful 2021, nan institution offered $197 cardinal to Epic to bring Fortnite to nan Play Store, but nan gaming institution refused nan deal. Separately, Google has tried to onslaught multimillion-dollar deals pinch different crippled makers specified arsenic Activision Blizzard and Tencent’s Riot Games.