Secret Google deal let Spotify skip Play Store fees

Spotify reportedly had a special deal with Google, letting it skip Play Store fees. The secret deal saves Spotify from the Android app store’s fee when people sign up for subscriptions using its own payment system on Android.

As part of the same deal, Spotify paid Google just a 4% commission if users signed up for the service through Google. It is far less than most other apps which typically pay 15% for subscriptions through the Google Play Store.

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“Listening to music is one of core purposes… if we don’t have Spotify working properly across Play services and core services, people will not buy Android phones”, Google’s partnerships head Don Harrison reportedly said in court.

Both Google and Spotify also agreed to put $50 million each in a “success fund” as part of the deal. The remarks were made as part of a lawsuit first filed against Google by Epic Games.

“A small number of developers that invest more directly in Android and Play may have different service fees as part of a broader partnership that includes substantial financial investments and product integrations across different form factors,” Dan Jackson, a Google spokesperson, wrote to Engadget in a statement.

// TheVerge