TOPLINE Apple has agreed to make some changes to its App Store policy as part of a proposed lawsuit settlement which will enable developers to contact customers about alternate payment methods for in-app transactions that will allow them to circumvent Apple’s sizeable commission fee, a move that comes at a time when the iPhone-maker is facing major antitrust and legal challenges around the world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Is a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/08/apple-us-developers-agree-to-app-store-updates/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">press release</a>, Apple says it will allow app developers to reach out to their iPhone and iPad customers via email or other communication channels to inform them about alternate payment methods that don’t carry Apple’s fee—something Apple previously did not allow.



One caveat to this allowance is that users will need to consent to the communication and they will have the right to opt-out of receiving such communications.



The proposed settlement also expands the number of price points that developers can charge for subscriptions, in-app purchases, and paid apps.



Apple has also agreed to create a $100 million fund for payouts to small app developers.



The iPhone-maker has also agreed to not raise its commission rate for small developers—which it slashed from 30% to 15% last year—for at least three years.



The proposed changes will have to be approved by a U.S. federal court judge who is also presiding over Epic Games’ lawsuit against Apple.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critic">CHIEF CRITIC</h2>



The Coalition for App Fairness—a group that includes the likes of Spotify and Epic Games as its members issued a&nbsp;<a href="https://appfairness.org/coalition-for-app-fairness-statement-on-apples-sham-settlement-offer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>&nbsp;dismissing Apple’s settlement offer as a “sham.” Meghan DiMuzio the executive director of the group said: “Apple&#8217;s sham settlement offer is nothing more than a desperate attempt to avoid the judgment of courts, regulators, and legislators worldwide… If this settlement is approved, app makers will still be barred from communicating about lower prices or offering competing payment options within their apps.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“We truly are proud that a case brought by two developers, standing in the shoes of tens of thousands of U.S. iOS developers, could help to bring about so much important change,” Steve Berman, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in the suit,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/technology/apple-settles-app-store-lawsuit.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;the&nbsp;New York Times.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Apple’s settlement appears to be a rather minor concession from the world’s richest company as its App Store business practices face&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/08/25/south-korea-lawmakers-back-legislative-action-to-curb-google-and-apples-app-store-fees/?sh=7c082ba01813">increasing antitrust scrutiny</a>&nbsp;worldwide. Some app makers, like Spotify, already&nbsp;<a href="https://support.spotify.com/us/article/apple-payments/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">block new customers</a>&nbsp;from signing up for subscriptions inside their iOS app. In the past, the music streamer has also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/8/8913105/spotify-apple-app-store-email" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sent out emails</a>&nbsp;urging existing subscribers to ditch Apple’s payment system for a discount. Apple’s new proposal will simply formalize this for all developers. The company, however, made no concessions about payment methods within iOS itself, and app developers are still forced to only use Apple’s payment system for all in-app transactions taking place on an iPhone or iPad. The proposed settlement comes at a time when Apple is awaiting a decision from a federal judge in a separate lawsuit filed by Fortnite-developer Epic Games which seeks to allow developers to circumvent Apple’s App Store commissions altogether.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



On Wednesday, a South Korean parliamentary committee&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/08/25/south-korea-lawmakers-back-legislative-action-to-curb-google-and-apples-app-store-fees/?sh=7c082ba01813">voted</a>&nbsp;to move forward a key legislative amendment that would ban Apple and Google from forcibly charging app developers a commission on all add-on purchases by requiring them to use their proprietary payment systems. Previously this month, a group of bipartisan U.S. senators&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-lawmakers-introduce-bill-rein-apple-google-app-stores-2021-08-11/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">introduced</a>&nbsp;a similar bill that would bar companies from forcing their payment system on app developers. Last year, the European Union&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/12/15/new-eu-rules-could-fine-us-tech-giants-billions/?sh=5db2712f6a54">unveiled</a>&nbsp;a set of proposals that would force the likes of Apple and Google to divest parts of their business if they fail to adhere to fair competition rules.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/technology/apple-settles-app-store-lawsuit.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Apple Settlement Gives App Developers a Way to Avoid Its Commission</a>&nbsp;(New York Times)



<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-will-change-app-store-practices-after-settlement-with-small-developers-2021-08-27/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Apple strikes App Store deal with small developers as it waits for &#8216;Fortnite&#8217; ruling</a> (Reuters)



By Siladitya Ray, Forbes Staff

American multinational technology company Apple store seen

Apple Agrees To App Store Policy Changes In Settlement With Small Developers As Antitrust Threat Looms

Creators and consumers of music seek African online music
platforms even as global entities and record labels hesitate to fully commit on
the continent.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Africa is a continent of over a billion people, with a
young, increasingly tech-savvy population that has growing spending power and a
desire to find new ways of accessing a wider range of content. And, at a
sociocultural level, music plays a huge role in Africa.



A ripe environment for major global players in the music
industry, you would think, but things have been rather quiet around digital
music on the continent. 



Spotify only launched in South Africa last year, and its
only other African markets are Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. Apple Music
is still only available in the same handful of African countries as at the time
of its launch. 



Where these companies have, so far, looked on, others have
filled the gap. Chinese company Boomplay, founded in 2015, through a joint
venture between phone manufacturer Transsion and consumer apps firm NetEase,
now has 42 million users across multiple markets on the continent, and recently
secured $20 million in funding to break into more countries.



Locally and regionally focused platforms are also seeing
traction. Key among them is the Nairobi-based Mdundo, which has more than 3.5
million monthly active users in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda,
Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria. 



The company works with 50,000 musicians across Africa and
has signed a licensing deal with Warner Music Group.



The company’s CEO Martin Nielsen says the sector is seeing
strong progress, with artists flooding to online platforms to distribute their
music and labels paying more attention to the continent.



“We’re experiencing an increasing interest in Africa and the
music industry, both from commercial partners, record labels, music
distributors and global music services. This is a very positive development,
Africa is next in line,” he says.



The growth of platforms like Mdundo, and the launch of new
ones, has benefits for both creators and consumers of music on the continent.
For artists, they provide new ways of getting their music out there. 



Dumisani Kapanga is founder of the Malawi-based streaming
platform Mvelani, which has almost 100,000 songs in its catalogue and claims to
have at least 40,000 users each day. He says services like his have broken down
barriers to entry for artists.



“It’s now easier than ever for musicians to put out music to
their fans without relying on record labels to do so. Within minutes an artist
can have their music on some of the biggest platforms out there. We are
providing the means for artists to be heard easily, without the need for
expensive middle men,” Kapanga says. 



For consumers, it is ever easier to access music new and
old, in a variety of different ways. Damola Taiwo, co-founder of Nigeria-based
music downloads platform MyMusic.com.ng, says download platforms such as his
own remain the most popular due to factors such as accessibility and
affordability, but sees a future in Spotify-style streaming services in Africa.



“The download services seem to still be the preferred
method, where individual tracks are downloaded on devices and permanently
owned. This is probably due to the cost and quality of internet access on the
continent,” he says.



“However, there are other more structured platforms that
also exist where listeners consume music. Some of them are streaming services
similar to Spotify and Apple Music while others are download services, or a
mixture of both.”



What business model to pursue, and how to monetize, are key
challenges faced by local music platforms, and the fact that there are, as yet,
no clear answers might account for the wariness of the likes of Spotify and
Apple Music to bet big on Africa. Taiwo says another key issue is the lack of
major record labels on the continent. 



“Most artists will fall under the ‘indie’ bracket, and even
the ones that have record labels are more like a one-man business with a
maximum of three artists. This makes licencing difficult as there are too many
entities to talk to,” he says.



The diversity of what is loosely referred to as the “African
consumer”, but is, in fact, a huge mass of people with differing tastes and
preferences, also poses a problem for music platforms. Nielsen says there is a
rapidly growing middle class that demands the same service that global music
services offer, yet they are still very data-cost conscious. 



“Plus many of the smart devices have limited storage, so we
tailor-make our solution to their needs. In addition to that, we have a
mass-market segment on our service with low-end smartphone devices that we see
a huge potential in with simpler music offerings,” he says.

Tag: apple music

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Apple Agrees To App Store Policy Changes In Settlement With Small Developers As Antitrust Threat Looms

African Music Platforms Soar As Spotify And Apple Snooze