Epic and Google are gearing up for another legal battle. You may recall that Google is about to launch an in-app billing crackdown on the Play Store. The new rules require all apps that sell digital goods to use Google Play Billing by March 31, so Google can get a cut of sales. Any non-compliant apps have been unable to release updates since March 31, but the real deadline is June 1, when the apps will be removed from the Play Store. Epic Games bought popular indie music site Bandcamp in March and has taken Google to court over its latest acquisition. Bandcamp doesn’t comply with billing rules, so a ban should be implemented in June. As part of an antitrust lawsuit against Google, Epic is filing a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop Bandcamp from being removed from the Play Store.
Epic has attacked Google and Apple over app store rules and what Epic says is exorbitant fees. March, around why Fortnite And Unreal Engine will buy an independent music site. A comment by Tim Ingham, founder of Music Business Worldwide, appears to have nailed Epic’s strategy. Ingham noted that Epic failed to get Apple to reduce its 30% App Store cut, in part because the Epic Games Store and its 12% fee, an alternative model Epic could show to court, were not profitable. Apple’s lawyers argue that the unprofitability of the Epic Games Store justifies Apple’s 30 percent fee.
Band summer camp Yes Still, it’s a lucrative digital content business. Bandcamp has a searchable content store that hosts and delivers content by charging artists a 10% to 15% commission. Ingham predicts that Epic will support Bandcamp’s business model as a viable alternative to Apple and Google’s app store fees, and that Epic will use its new acquisition to attack app store owners. It looks like we’re seeing the first action of the program.
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Bandcamp says its business is incompatible with Google Play Billing
Epic’s court filing said, “Google has a monopoly on the distribution of Android apps and has used its monopoly power to unlawfully bundle its payment product, Google Play Billing, with its app distribution product, Google Play.” Bandcamp was used as the billing system to An example of what damage is done, arguing that Bandcamp’s business model is mostly incompatible with Google Play Billing.
Epic asked several questions about Google’s billing system. First, Bandcamp’s payment system is “customized to maximize efficiency and minimize costs, allowing artists to get paid within 24 to 48 hours of a sale.” Google Play takes 15 to 45 days to pay, and Bandcamp’s fast system is designed to help independent artists pay their monthly bills on time.
Epic vs Apple/Google
View more stories Second, Epic said that if Google took a 30% cut, Bandcamp’s ability to provide artists with 82% of revenue would be compromised. Epic also noted that Google offered the company a 10 percent commission following Epic’s complaint. Google keeps offering big companies special discounts on its Play Store fees. Spotify has another special arrangement that allows it to run its own payment system alongside Google Play. Epic also rejected the 10% deal, saying Bandcamp currently has a 7% profit margin after its 13% price cut, so it can’t afford it.
One of the more interesting complaints is that Google Play Billing is not compatible with the type of store that Bandcamp operates. The first is that Bandcamp is a mix of digital and physical content. This makes sense for a music company — you can buy digital downloads, physical CDs or vinyl records, and some band merchandise like T-shirts in one store. Google Play Billing for in-app purchases was not built for this, nor does it support brick-and-mortar sales. Bandcamp must support two different payment systems and must run two checkout systems. The second compatibility issue with Bandcamp is that it’s an open marketplace with thousands of artists selling wares. Instead of acting as a middleman for thousands of sellers, Google Play supports payments to a single developer entity.
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On Bandcamp’s blog, CEO Ethan Diamond said: “If Google’s policy changes are still in effect starting June 1, we’ll have to pass Google’s cost on to consumers (making Android great for music lovers) less attractive), or pass the fee on to the artist (which we would never do), run our Android business at a loss, or shut down digital sales in Android apps.” Cancelling purchases due to Google’s new billing rules is Amazon and Barnes & Noble took the pick earlier this month.Poor Barnes & Noble is also the maker of Android, and now it can’t sell digital books on it my own hardware!
Epic’s antitrust lawsuit against Google is scheduled for April 2023, and non-compliant apps will be removed from the Play Store within a month. We will keep an eye on more developments.
Update 4:18pm ET: Google sent a statement:
This is yet another baseless claim from Epic, which is now using its newly acquired app Bandcamp to continue its efforts to avoid paying for the value Google Play provides. For 18 months, we’ve been transparent about Play’s payment policies, and as Epic knows, Bandcamp is eligible to charge a 10% service fee through Play’s Media Experience Program—much lower than what they charge on their own platform. Despite their claims, the open nature of Android means that Bandcamp has a variety of ways to distribute their apps to Android users, including through other app stores, directly to users through their website, or as a consumer application.