[klodolph]

When you stream a song, it’s Spotify who controls both the revenue and the revenue share. Spotify gives you 70% of some amount of revenue, and Spotify determines how much that revenue is, in the first place.

If you put an app in the App Store, at least you get to determine the price point—you get to determine whether you want to charge up-front, make an ad-supported app, or rely on IAPs. Spotify doesn’t let you set the price of your song.

[Hamuko]

Isn't that just because it's a fundamentally different business? It's not like you can freely set what price your album and songs are if you put it on iTunes Store for sale.

[klodolph]

I was comparing the App Store, which lets you freely set prices.

iTunes Store does offer you some control, within certain limits. You can set the “price tier” for different songs, which is why you see some songs for 69¢, some for 99¢, and most for $1.29. If you’re a prog-rock band who put out an album with 20-minute songs, one song per side, then you mark the songs as “album-only” and set the price for the album (or at least the price tier). Or you can divide the song into segments and let people buy those as individual tracks. I’ve seen both approaches.

[kevingadd]

Yes, and in Apple's awesome new pricing model, "free" is no longer a price you can choose as a developer because you owe an install fee per install/update no matter what, unless they generously decide to exempt you from it. You can choose any price you want as long as it's Expensive. The end result is more gamification, more exploitative monetization, more dark patterns, and more gambling games.

[nickthegreek]

This is false. Free is still a price. As a developer, you can keep the current terms. You do not need to go to a 3rd party App Store and pay the CTF.