- Lets start with the subscription apps like Spotify, which by the way is not in the top 10, so I could not find actual revenue numbers. I already shared the estimated $850M Netflix made last year. Here is a list of the top 10 subscription based services iOS revenues from.
- A Spotify clone app is the key to enter and gain an advantage in the lucrative audio streaming industry. With AppDupe’s cutting-edge Spotify clone app development services, you can own an app that will captivate the music lovers globally. A robust platform to offer millions of songs of all genres is a treat to your users.
- Cached
- Spotify Developer Apps
- Spotify Dev Apps Free
- Free Spotify App
- Features | Spotify For Developers
- Install Spotify App
- See All Results For This Question
Spotify lashed out against Apple and the AppStore policies, namely the Apple tax. There are more claims, really venting about the app experience on iOS as well as conflict in competition.
They are not alone. BaseCamp generated buzz about Apple's AppStore practices when it's Hey.com app was rejected.
ChromeOS.dev — A blueprint to build world-class apps and games for Chrome OS. ChromeOS.dev is officially launched; an open-source, multilingual blueprint to build world-class apps and game for, and on, Chrome OS. Plus, new Chrome OS features. Technical Android at large: how to bring optimized experiences to the big screen.
Collectively the Spotify claims point out major issues not only with Apple's AppStore, but mobile app store distribution issues.
Spotify has made a dedicated website to express their arguments call Time to Play Fair.
Spotify free hack iphone download. The store model is not favorable to the businesses developing native apps and many are questioning if they really need applications as more and more are migrating their client strategies to progressive web applications.
'In recent years, Apple has introduced rules to the App Store that purposely limit choice and stifle innovation at the expense of the user experience—essentially acting as both a player and referee to deliberately disadvantage other app developers.' Daniel Ek
According to research done by the New York Times Ek and Spotify are not the only company hurt by Apple's App Store practices. The study shows that since Apple began placing its own apps in the App Store Apple has dominated many of the most popular search terms. What's worse is the search results have been stacked with Apple apps not related to the search intent.
But as Apple has become one of the largest competitors on a platform that it controls, suspicions that the company has been tipping the scales in its own favor are at the heart of antitrust complaints in the United States, Europe and Russia.
New York Times
Let me list Spotify's claims:
- 30% Purchase Tax
- Limiting Communication with Users that Pay Outside the AppStore
- Blocking Experience Enhancing Upgrade
- Routinely Blocking Application Updates
- Locking Competitors out of Siri, HomePod, and Apple Watch
- Apple Customers Do Not Have A Payment Choice
Apple released a response to Ek's claims, which of course denies everything.
'At its core, the App Store is a safe, secure platform where users can have faith in the apps they discover and the transactions they make. And developers, from first-time engineers to larger companies, can rest assured that everyone is playing by the same set of rules. ' - Apple
I am not someone who knows the details of the interactions between Apple and Spotify. So I can't speak to the availability of the platform features and what payouts the services make to the artists.
I do know more and more application brands are phasing out their dependence on app stores and migrating to a PWA strategy. Netflix fired a brutal punch to Apple over Christmas when they pulled the ability for new subscriptions to use Apple as a payment service.
Netflix earned over $850M in subscriptions via the AppStore in 2018, generating between $130 and $260M for Apple. In fact subscription services like Netflix and Spotify generate a significant amount of AppStore revenue, approximately $3.7B from the top 10 apps to be fair.
The disagreement only heightens the appeal progressive web applications have, even on iOS, where support is still somewhat limited.
I am receiving an increasing number of inquiries about replacing native apps with PWAs. Many fear issues highlighted by Spotify's claims. Others have either suffered a '4.2.6' removal or denial.
The more I discuss the merits of progressive web applications over native apps with clients and potential clients I have formulated a simple way to determine if you should develop and ship a mobile app:
Spotify premium apk 2018 march offline. 'Does your app help sell iPhones or generate significant store revenue for Apple?'
If your answer is yes then you should think about developing an app. Otherwise a progressive web app is probably your better choice.
Why Hasn't Spotify Gone to a Progressive Web Application?
If you are wondering, Spotify offers a progressive web application option. Why they don’t use this as there primary path to ‘install’ their experience I don’t know.
Traditionally brands were trained to think consumers want apps over web-based experiences.
This fails to account for current trends. The web has caught up to native applications in feature parity for just about everything. For a music-based application like Spotify all the pieces are in place to be a web-based experience that matches their current native application.
We also know that consumers are tired of mobile apps. Today no one downloads apps anymore. Sure there are app downloads, but by and large the fad has ended. Most app downloads are to new phones, ‘restoring’ a user’s existing apps.
Outside of frivolous games native apps have simply fallen out of favor by most.
For established brands, like Spotify, have a large base of customers using their existing app. It will be difficult to wean them off the native app to the PWA solution.
Ultimately this means they have to weigh the costs and benefits for maintaining native apps, with the AppStore tax against potential customer churn in changing their interface to the web.
Right now there are many large brands taking that journey. Uber, Lyft, Twitter and others are in the process of moving to a progressive web app solution. Most have PWAs with feature parity to their native apps. They typically have moved to a PWA as the client code base and use a hybrid wrapper like Cordova to put the solution in the store.
This is the problem when you chose to go the way of a closed solution, native apps over an open solution, web. While native apps certainly were popular years ago, that has run its course and now presents an impediment to growing a profitable business.
Why Doesn't Spotify Eliminate AppStore Payments?
I can't speak for Spotify, but I would do exactly what Netflix did.
ApplePay is just one payment provider. The web has been monetized for 25+ years. I have built numerous sites with real-time credit card, ACH, PayPal and other payment providers.
Today the options have increased even more with cryptocurrencies and other more modern methods.
The Payment Request API make this integration and experience even easier. You can even make yourself a payment provider with the new Payment Handler API.
For the record Safari does support the Payment Request API and you can use ApplePay in the other browsers as well as Android Pay and Microsoft Pay.
The ability to receive money online are easier than ever, even on a website. Mobile apps do not have a monopoly on montetization.
And here is the thing, credit card transactions cost less than 3%, even for the more expensive providers. Generally the transaction fee is 1-2.5%.
This is much, much lower than the 30% Apple takes when someone buys a digital good or service through your app.
This is something I have never understood, why would any business be happy with a third party taking a 30% cut of their pre-tax revenues?
Apple's tax laws are 30% of all sales, except for subscriptions. The first year of a subscription has the 30% penalty, it then drops to 15%. The fee only applies to digital goods purchased through the app, not physical goods.
Does Apple really offer that much value? Could these businesses succeed through the web?
I say of course they could.
Paul Thurrott recently made a good point about IAP and Apple's policies after Apple blocked Hey.com's new app.
'This would be acceptable if Apple allowed app makers to use other IAP payment systems, which they do not, or if Apple even allowed app makers to just communicate that they could pay this fee on the Basecamp website. But they don’t even allowthat. And that, of course, is where Hey 1.0.1 ran afoul of Apple’s incredibly tone-deaf policies: Basecamp had the temerity to put a note in its own app explaining that users could go to the web and pay there instead.'
- Paul Thurrott
A Quick Review of AppStore Revenues - Who Actually Makes Money?
Apple and Google makes billions through their mobile app stores. There is no denying the revenue amounts.
Sensor Tower seems to be the consensus reporting service when it comes to app popularity and revenues. So I will use their numbers as examples.
Lets start with the subscription apps like Spotify, which by the way is not in the top 10, so I could not find actual revenue numbers.
I already shared the estimated $850M Netflix made last year. Here is a list of the top 10 subscription based services iOS revenues from 1/2018-11/2018 (so not including December revenues):
- Hulu $132.2M
- QQ $159.7M
- YouKu $192.9M
- Pandora $225.7M
- YouTube $244.2M
- Kwai $264.5M
- Tinder $462.2M
- Tencent $490.0M
- Netflix $790.2M
Notice how half of these apps are Chinese?
I should also not that Tinder has released a PWA which is getting great engagement. I expect them to start phasing out their app like other platforms soon.
![Spotify Spotify](/uploads/1/3/4/1/134145978/675888987.jpg)
Tinder is also the only non-media streaming app. If you look at the top dating apps the next 4 account for $235M.
These 10 apps account for about 10% of the overall AppStore revenues, which speaks volumes to me.
Note this list does not include the Major League Baseball package, which I also know drives millions in revenue each season. But the point is streaming subscription services account for a large percentage of Apple's revenue.
Mobile games account for 77% of app store revenues, about $55 billion. That leaves about $16.6 billion for other apps. A large chunk of that is subscription services.
For the record games account for the majority of app downloads too.
So if you are making a game, then mobile apps are probably a reasonable avenue.
A recent stat shared on CNBC says Apple claims to have generated $155 trillion USD in sales since AppStore creation. That is distributed among 23 million developers. This means the average developer has earned around $6700 over the last decade.
That is not much at all. Of course we know the bulk of the revenue was earned by the top 1% or so applications. We know very few apps are downloaded and even fewer used more than once. Hence 1% or fewer actually earn revenue.
Apple's Advantage Against Competition
Another argument Spotify makes against Apple is their distinct advantage over competition like Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, etc. These non-Apple services have to pay the Apple tax, and Apple does not. This means Apple is immediately more profitable than the competition can hope to be.
The other advantage is Apple can hold up their application updates, deployments and of course access to undocumented APIs. I can't say if Apple has restricted access to APIs or not, so I wont comment much on that. But I could see them doing this, others have in the past.
I do know Apple does create lots of frustration and friction for deploying apps to the store. This includes new applications and updates.
The 4.2.6 rule gives them free range to almost 'randomly' reject any app anytime they feel like doing so. Personally I think they made the rule intentionally vague so they could create artificial interference with apps they just don't like.
Of course Apple claims they create a safe, trusted environment for their customers, etc. The web is a safe place. One of the reasons web standards take so long to bake and implement is the fight for secure implementations. So I don't see any real 'security' advantage native apps have over the web.
Here's the thing..
Should you outsource the control of your app or your business to a third party like this? It is not always clear, but in most cases no. There is too much to risk.
What if they cut you off, without warning?
You're done.
And Apple does have a history of doing just that.
But they can also make it difficult for you to even deploy updates. I know I have spoken to numerous developers and companies since the AppStore was created lament the fact that even under perfect circumstances it takes 2 weeks to get an update deployed to fix a bug.
Blocking updates is another major aspect of Spotify's complaints. I know they are not alone, I talk to app owners all the time that express frustration with long update cycles and rejections. It is a trail of frustration for many.
On the web, you find a bug, fix it and deploy an update as fast as you can. That could literally be a couple of minutes to just under an hour if you have your ducks in a row, and it is not a major bug of course.
I know some sites update 1500 or more times a day. Try that with your native app.
Apple Responds, but Doesn't Provide a Good Argument
Apple has stepped up its public response to Spotify by posting its own page on the controversy.
In this response Apple claims it owns the store and puts forth the effort to only have high quality apps that are safe and secure.
I have no issue with the notion of safe, secure and protecting privacy. The web has all that as well, so the AppStore has no advantage here.
The real problem lies in their ambiguous App Store Review Guidelines. Of course, in those guidelines they specific an app must be ‘app-like’. This is where they reserve judgement to kick any app they simple do not like.
In their principles and practices response Apple also proudly shares the fact they reject an average of 40,000 app submissions and updates each week. That is 40% of the weekly app submissions.
They also field over 1000 appeals for rejections or removals.
Compare this to the web which allows unlimited deployments a day. Some applications update as many as 1500 times a day.
Deploy a bug, it sucks, but I can quickly fix and redeploy. Sometimes these updates can deploy within minutes.
Good luck doing that with Apple in the way. Developers I speak with tell me they expect 2-4 weeks before bug deployments are actually released in the store.
Not to mention you are subject to the Apple censors to determine if your app is worthy of being presented to consumers. They really do not believe in consumer choice, it is their choice to determine what is best for the consumer.
On top of that they make it difficult to compete with the apps that ship with the iPhone and iPad.
Summing It Up
I get why Spotify has filed a complaint. I don't like they decided to get a government entity involved to fight their battle.
They and other streaming services should be brave enough to follow Netlix's lead and just abandon app store payment as an option.
Spotify should also start an aggressive path toward becoming a progressive web application. I realize there may be a technical hurdle for now preventing a good mobile experience, but that can be overcome with some effort. This is one of the very, very few edge cases where an app is limited to native. 99% aren't.
Spotify desktop app artists not showing. The video streaming services don't really need native apps. So for now Netflix and other video streaming services have the freedom to migrate from their native apps and the restrictions imposed by the stores.
Audio services are still at a disadvantage until we get a supported API to allow audio to play after the lock screen engages.
This is a great opportunity and incentive for Spotify, Pandora, Audible, Stitcher and other audio services to join the W3C working groups and help define a specification to allow audio to play as a background service in the browser.
Spotify is not profitable at the moment and at a disadvantage on iOS because Apple does not have the 30% tax imposed on themselves.
But that is Apple's prerogative, it is their platform they can do what they want. By supporting a common standard on the web Spotify could move away from Apple's platform and maybe force Apple to add support for a great new capability.
We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing, we'll assume you're cool with our cookie policy.
Install Love2Dev for quick, easy access from your homescreen or start menu.
Life is somewhat like a movie. Don’t all of us have music playing in the background when something special happens? People tend to associate certain individuals or events with particular songs. Music has become everyone’s universal companion that follows wherever we go.
Only half a decade ago an iPod with couple hundreds of favorites was enough, but today the advancement of internet connection speed has changed the demand for music and resulted in the rising popularity of music streaming app, thus, increasing the demand in music app development.
Having over 75 million users, Spotify is the most popular among them. What is the reason behind its popularity and how to make a music app like Spotify? These are the topics of our article.
What is a Spotify streaming app?
In short, Spotify is a video and music streaming app that allows users to browse for any song, artist, album or genre. Users can share favorite tracks, add them to playlists or even collaborate with their friends to create compilations.
The Spotify app was launched back in October 2008. The idea behind it belongs to two friends, Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, that came up with it sitting in the nearly empty apartment in Stockholm, Sweden. It provides access to all music in the world, anywhere and anytime.
The benefits of an online music streaming service are clear:
- Quick access
- Affordability
- Unlimited storage
- Social engagement
Spotify offered an inexpensive alternative to piracy. A monthly subscription does not cost much, so users can enjoy their favorite tracks and give credit to artists at the same time.
Cost forming factors of building a music streaming app Like Spotify
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same thing goes for an application. There is a long process involved in creating a music streaming app. In brief, it looks like this:
- Planning and estimating
- Finding tech crew
- Designing the app Like Spotify
- Deciding on a Platform
- Getting licensed
- Developing features
Let’s take a closer look at each of these stages.
#1. Planning
Before getting down to developing a music app, prepare the planned concept of the project. Try out the main competitors, check out what is so special about them and how to outrun them.
Of course, not all niches in the music streaming industry are taken, but you have to study what people are going to use your product. What is their age? How do they live? Why do they need you? Tailor the application’s features and design to match the needs of your target audience.
#2. Finding Tech Crew
When you finally have a vision of what your product is going to be, it’s time to locate the team that will build it for you. There are lots of factors (e.g. rates, location, language and time zone differences, etc.) to consider while setting down with one company.
Spotify download the devil went down to jamaica. In case you want to roughly estimate how much it costs to build an app like Spotify, use the average rates per region given below:
- North America
- Western Europe
- Eastern Europe
- Asia
Pay attention to the project history of the company. Do they have relevant experience in creating music streaming applications? Is their reputation any good? You can go as far as checking out their applications in App Store and Play Market.
Cached
#3. Designing the app Like Spotify
When you have found the team that is going to make your music streaming app, proceed to make wireframes for the project. The application’s purpose has to be understandable. Every action and feature has to be straightforward and intuitive. Users love apps that are easy to use.
The time spent on making a prototype strongly depends on how thoroughly you thought out what you want from the finished product. Make sure to analyze your main competitors and learn from them. Pick up the best parts, and look at the app like a user would, not like the owner.
#4. Deciding on a Platform
It’s one of the key aspects to influence the final development cost. It’d be better to create a native applications for each platform so they would perfectly interact with the existing operating system, and offer users the most authentic user experience. No matter what platform you go with, the Spotify’s SDK are available for both iOS and Android. It will ease the work of your developer crew in making features like music streaming or authentification.
#5. Getting licensed
There is no way you will be able to take someone’s composition and spread it everywhere all that simply. There are copyrights and legal procedures that should be followed. Otherwise, a lawsuit is in store for you.
To provide users with high-quality audio or video content, you have to receive a Public Performance Rights license. In the USA, it is handled by three agencies: ASCAP.com, BMI.com or SESAC.com. Moreover, a particular share of revenues will have to be paid to artists as royalties for using their music.
#6. Developing features
Authentification
Spotify utilizes the freemium business model, which requires the user to sign up before using a system, and what’s more important, it lets them access the content for the trial period before purchasing a subscription. Also, Spotify is connected to Facebook and allows users to sign in through their account.
- Developing this feature is going to require 24 hours of front-end time, and 16 hours to build the backend part.
Music streaming
The streaming method does not require the whole file to be downloaded. Actually, the audio is delivered in small “packets” for the data to be buffered into the device and instantly played. You have to make sure that the stream in steady and uninterrupted to hear the clear sound without any stops.
Spotify Developer Apps
- As for a simple MVP, it will take about 60-80 hours for front-end, and 50 hours for back-end part. However, building the music streaming feature altogether is going to take about 600 hours (350 hours for front-end including caching, and 250 for back-end without scaling).
Search
Spotify allows users to choose among tons of playlists and select the one that suits their mood the best. Aside from that, users can search the track by artist, album or a particular genre.
- The MVP needs 50-60 hours to develop the front-end, and 50 hours for back-end.
Sharing music
The application has taken after a social network in giving the ability to see the playlists of friends and share liked tracks with them.
- Front-end: 5 hours per each platform
- Back-end: 60 hours
Playlists
There is a whole team dedicated to creating relatable playlists suitable for a special occasion like having a road trip with a family or enjoying the party with friends. Moreover, users can set up their own music collections on their own, or together with their buddies. These playlists can be shared and popularized on Spotify.
- Front-end: 40 hours
- Back-end: 70 hours
Offline mode
Spotify Dev Apps Free
This feature allows users to listen to their favorite songs without the internet connection. It uses the local storage of the device to cache the audio data.
- Front-end: 40 hours
- Back-end: 20 hours
The time needed to develop an MVP of a similar music streaming app like Spotify is going to take approximately 550-600 hours of working time. However, if you aim for the same quality and usability as in Spotify, multiply this number by 2 or 2.5.
Free Spotify App
Approximate overall cost of a music streaming MVP Like Spotify
Features | Spotify For Developers
Relying on the rough estimate in the table given above, we can say that the development of an average music streaming MVP is going to take the minimum of 530 hours (development time). So the sole development is going to cost around $16-20 K. We covered only the essential features of music streaming app, and that is only the top of the iceberg. However, why is Spotify so successful?
Feature | Front-end | Back-end | Total +/- |
---|---|---|---|
Authentification | 24 h | 16 h | 40 h |
Music streaming | 80 h | 60 h | 140 h |
Search | 60 h | 50 h | 110 h |
Sharing music | 5 h per platform | 60 h | 65-70 h |
Playlists | 40 h | 70 h | 110 h |
Offline mode | 40 h | 20h | 60 h |
530 hours |
Secret behind Spotify’s success (or why you won’t make it)
Spotify has become so popular because it gives users what they want. It understands users’ preferences by analyzing enormous amounts of collected data with the help of specially developed algorithms.
While the basic Spotify technology stack may look quite simple: they build the app relying mainly on Python and JavaScript, and PostgreSQL in combination with memory caching system to save the music directly on the device, the true fame should go to the discovery algorithms.
It is the long process of receiving the data on user and user’s behavior together with creating algorithms for analyzing its every aspect.
To provide personalized user experience, companies offer their users an option to like or dislike songs they listen to. Whenever a user likes or Spotify a composition. The information is stored in the user’s preferences section combined with the name of the artist, album, song, and more.
It is also possible to analyze what tracks the user has skipped, or what he has listened to until the very end. It will also allow offering tracks that suit a user’s taste.
Install Spotify App
With time, the analysis will help improving user experience, but the cost of storing space and developing algorithms for analysis will require additional funding.
As the amount of users’ data increases, you will have to think about improving or implementing new algorithms to better the system of music recommendations and daily discoveries.
Spotify, for instance, uses Echo Nest API, that utilizes data mining and machine learning technologies to collect information on what user listens to on a daily basis, what artists or songs are most or less favorite. This information is used to create personalized playlists for the user and his particular mood. It works on proposing suitable music for every moment of user’s life.
Why it is nearly impossible to repeat Spotify’s success
The streaming market is not as easy to enter as it may seem. Here at IDAP we get a lot of clients that want a Spotify-clone. However, despite that is simple on the tech side, there are a lot of processes involved that remind in the background. If you want to have a successful streaming application, you have to dig deeper where no one has dug before.
Spotify did not become famous in one day. They have spent nearly 5 years, acquired machine learning, created a system of algorithms that analyzes user’s preferences and offers a playlist for a day.
Therefore, it would be difficult to compete with the giant of the music streaming industry. Instead of trying to succeed at something that is already made, try to find your own niche that will help people of a specific profession or interest.
Summary
See All Results For This Question
Summing up, the initial cost of building a simple Spotify-like music streaming app starts from $16,000, and can only grow and grow some more. We at IDAP have no problem in building the technical part of any streaming application, both video and audio.
However, no matter how much money you invest into another Spotify clone, the probability of its success is very low. The magic of Spotify is unique and not cloneable. It is something that cannot be technically built, as it is driven by an idea.
Loading..