what? We’re not slowing down, it’s just too complicated —
Spotify is Google Play’s first partner for User Choice Billing.
Ron Amadeo
enlarge/ Let’s see, you landed on my “Google Ads” space and own three houses…that would be $1,400.
The ever-changing goalpost billing of alternative app stores means it’s not clear if anything is actually being accomplished here. The original motivation for alternative payments was to sidestep Google’s (and Apple’s) app store fees, which account for developers 15-30% of revenue. While Google and Apple have been legally forced to open up their payment processing in some countries, the mobile duopoly has ignored the spirit of these rulings and has not really changed the fees it charges. For third-party payment systems, both App store owners cut commissions by only 3% to 4%, which is about the cost of processing a credit card. The original intention of “saving developers money” is not fulfilled; they can only choose to spend the 3% elsewhere.
Rolling out today in the U.S., Brazil and South Africa, Google says users Opt-in billing is now live in 35 countries. You’ll need to have an app that actually approves the program, though, and Spotify says it’s rolling out the feature in “select markets.”
