REUTERS: Music streaming service Spotify Technology SA pays Apple Inc a 15per cent fee on about 680,000 of its 100 million premium customers, Apple disclosed in a response to Spotify's complaint with European antitrust regulators.
Apple charges a 30per cent fee for in-app purchases made through the App Store, a fee that drops to 15per cent on subscription purchases after one year. Apple said that Spotify used its App Store billing system between 2014 and 2016. Because the 680,000 premium Spotify customers who signed up during that period have all been paying for more than a year, Spotify pays Apple the lower 15per cent fee on them, Apple said in its response.Apple also said that Spotify has paid it nothing for premium subscribers who signed up during the past three years because Spotify has not used Apple's in-app purchase system.