So, turns out Spotify and Google had this secret deal that let Spotify dodge the commission fees when folks signed up for subscriptions on Android using Spotify’s own payment system. In the ongoing Epic v. Google trial, the details spilled out – Spotify paid Google just four percent commission if users signed up through Google, a sweet deal compared to the usual 15 percent for subscriptions via the Google Play Store.
In court, Google’s partnerships bigwig, Don Harrison, spilled the beans, saying Spotify not playing nice on Android would be a real bummer for selling Android phones. As part of this hush-hush deal, both Spotify and Google threw $50 million each into a “success fund.”
This all came out in Epic Games’ lawsuit against Google, where Epic argued that the Play Store was an unfair monopoly, shaking down app makers for big bucks for in-app purchases. Google’s defense? Well, they said some developers get different fees under special partnerships that involve major cash and fancy product integrations.
Now, Spotify was initially cheering for Epic in their legal battle against Google and Apple, but then in 2022, they did a switcheroo and joined Google’s User Choice Billing program. This let Android apps use their own payment systems, but they had to cut Google a smaller piece of the pie.
And the plot thickens – Google apparently offered Netflix a special deal too. They pitched a reduced 10 percent commission, but Netflix passed on the offer, choosing not to let users sign up directly within its Android app.
