Skip to main content

Rhapsody won’t bend to Apple’s new iTunes policy

rhapsody-iphoneMusic subscription service Rhapsody isn’t a fan of Apple’s new App Store guidelines, and it’s letting everyone know. In response to the new purchasing policies, Rhapsody has issued a statement:

“Our philosophy is simple too – an Apple-imposed arrangement that requires us to pay 30 percent of our revenue to Apple, in addition to content fees that we pay to the music labels, publishers and artists, is economically untenable. The bottom line is we would not be able to offer our service through the iTunes store if subjected to Apple’s 30 percent monthly fee vs. a typical 2.5 percent credit card free.”

Related Videos

Currently, Rhapsody’s app operates by automatically opening Safari and taking users to Rhapsody’s Website. According to Apple’s updated policy, Rhapsody can continue to do this, but it must also offer in-app subscriptions, of which Apple would get that notorious 30 percent cut. According to Rhapsody, not only can it not afford this fee, it’s willing to sue the iTunes operator.

And according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the music provider may stand a chance in court. The new iTunes subscription policy apparently raises some legal red flags, and according to antitrust experts, there is reason to challenge the policy. In order to accuse Apple of violating antitrust laws, it must first be ascertained that the company is a dominant force in the market and that it is also driving out its competitors. According to Herbert Hovenkamp, an antitrust professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, if Apple is distributing 60 percent or more of subscription content through the App Store, “then you might move into territory where an antitrust challenge would seem feasible.”

Rhapsody’s statement also noted that it will be “collaborating with our market peers in determining an appropriate legal and business response to this latest development.” Rhapsody currently has 750,000 customers, although less than half of these users subscribe through iTunes. But if you’re one of them, know that using the service app free through Safari will be spotty, and otherwise, you’re out of luck. It seems like various music subscribers may be cutting their ties with iTunes, not to mention other types of content providers. Sony for one has hinted at the idea of pulling its business from iTunes.

Apple has given developers until June to adhere to its new guidelines.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Apple’s Universal Control won’t arrive on Macs, iPads until 2022
The MacBook Pro with the default wallpaper, which hides the notch.

After having dropped the latest releases of its operating systems -- including iOS 15.2, iPad OS 15.2, macOS Monterey 12.1, watchOS 8.3, and tvOS 15.2 -- early Monday morning local time, one highly coveted feature that Apple promoted during its WWDC presentation earlier this year was notably missing. Unfortunately, it appears that Universal Control, a KVM-like feature that allows you to share a mouse and keyboard and work seamlessly across a Mac and iPad, didn't quite make the cut in the latest versions of the company's new iPadOS and macOS operating system releases.

It appears that the release date for Universal Control on the Mac has now been adjusted from winter to "available this spring," according to Apple's information page for macOS Monterey. The company did not give any further details or explanation for the delay, though this could mean that the feature won't arrive until macOS 12.2 drops.

Read more
Apple’s M1 chip has a flaw, but you shouldn’t worry
Coding on a MacBook

Apple’s M1 chip has revitalized its Mac lineup, but a developer has discovered a flaw they say is “baked into Apple Silicon chips, and cannot be fixed without a new silicon revision.” There is probably no need to worry, though, as the same researcher says the impact of this flaw is negligible.

The exploit allows two apps to pass data between them without the use of files, memory, or any of the other regular ways data is exchanged in an operating system, says Hector Martin, the developer who found the flaw. It can even pass things between users and across privilege levels.

Read more
How to access the iTunes Store in MacOS

With the addition of Apple Music and updates to MacOS, Apple has been busy changing how users listen to music and buy new albums -- and that’s caused a bit of confusion among those used to the old iTunes and the previous iTunes Stores. Even more recent changes have made it harder to find the iTunes Store in the Apple Music app, which is a sure disappointment to anyone hoping to pick up their favorite band’s new tracks.

Don’t worry! The iTunes Store is easy to find and easy to get back if it looks like you suddenly lost it. Here’s what to do.
Step 1: Open the Apple Music app

Read more