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Music

Spotify Is Launching Podcast Subscriptions, and Unlike Apple Won't Take a Cut From Creators (variety.com) 11

Posted by msmash from the podcast-wars dept.
Spotify wants to be the industry's No. 1 distributor of podcasts -- and it's willing to forgo some revenue in order to counter Apple's push into podcast subscriptions. From a report: Next week, Spotify will launch its podcast subscription option for partners. But the company will be letting content creators keep 100% of the subscription fees: Spotify will not take a cut of podcast subscription revenue, sources confirmed, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. By contrast, Apple will keep up to 30% of podcast subscription fees under its program, which is launching next month. Currently, Spotify doesn't allow customers to pay for subscriptions through Apple in-app purchases -- and Spotify has been a very vocal critic of Apple's App Store policies, which has included lodging a formal complaint with the European Union alleging anticompetitive behavior. Similarly, you won't be able to purchase Spotify podcast subscriptions through Apple.
Movies

Apple Must Face Lawsuit for Telling Consumers They Can 'Buy' Movies, TV Shows (hollywoodreporter.com) 130

Posted by msmash from the not-on-my-watch dept.
If possession is nine-tenths of the law, what happens when possession gets slippery? From a report: That's a question for a federal courtroom in Sacramento, California, where Apple is facing a putative class action over the way consumers can "buy" or "rent" movies, TV shows and other content in the iTunes Store. David Andino, the lead plaintiff in this case, argues the distinction is deceptive. He alleges Apple reserves the right to terminate access to what consumers have "purchased," and in fact, has done so on numerous occasions. This week, U.S. District Court Judge John Mendez made clear he isn't ready to buy into Apple's view of consumer expectations in the digital marketplace. "Apple contends that '[n]o reasonable consumer would believe' that purchased content would remain on the iTunes platform indefinitely," writes Mendez. "But in common usage, the term 'buy' means to acquire possession over something. It seems plausible, at least at the motion to dismiss stage, that reasonable consumers would expect their access couldn't be revoked." Apple tried other ways to slip away from claims of false advertising and unfair competition. For example, it tried the time-tested approach of challenging Andino's "injury" to knock his potential standing as a plaintiff.

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