Epic Games has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction preventing Google from removing independent music storefront Bandcamp from the Android App Store — which Google has apparently threatened to do because Bandcamp pays Google its App Store fee. Is using its own billing system instead of paying.
Bandcamp, which Epic acquired in March, has used its billing system on Android since 2015, and according to a blog post by the Bandcamp co-founder, digital music is allowed to be exempt from using Google’s billing system. Was able to do this because of the rules. CEO Ethan Diamond. However, Google is now revising its rules to require Bandcamp (and other apps like it) to exclusively use Google Play billing to pay for digital goods and services and to pay revenue share to Google. Yes,” Diamond says.
Under Google’s new rules, Bandcamp will have to make changes from June 1. Diamond says Bandcamp will be forced to choose between paying customers a fee, paying artists a fee, running its Android business at a loss, or closing sales in the Android app.
Paying Google […] Will force Epic to change Bandcamp’s current business model” – Epic
Epic argues that switching to Google’s billing system would affect its ability to continue to pay artists 82 percent of their Bandcamp revenue, as it would have to pay Google 10 percent—yes, 10 percent, not 30 percent, because It looks like Google offered Bandcamp some sort of dear deal here. Epic argues, “Paying a 10 percent revenue share to Google would force Epic to change Bandcamp’s current business model or operate the Bandcamp business at a long-term loss.”
Epic also claims that music artists may have to wait even longer for their money, adding that its current payment system allows artists to be paid within 24 to 48 hours of the sale, but that Google doesn’t pay developers until “15 to 45 days after the sale.”
While that argument certainly sounds tempting, it didn’t work when another platform that tries to pay creators, Fanhouse, tried against Apple last year. Fanhouse added a 50 percent surcharge to cover the Apple tax. That’s why Epic is going to the courts instead of just trying to publicly shame Google — but it could also be why Epic wants to use Bandcamp as a pawn in its bigger fight against Google and Apple. hopes. Epic sued both Apple and Google in August 2020, alleging antitrust violations after both platforms kicked off fortnite When Epic introduced its in-app payment mechanism for the game, their stores were closed. The hearing of the Google case will not take place until 2023.
In today’s filing, Epic says that Google is changing its policies “under the guise of a ‘clarification’ that it announced in September 2020.” But that update hasn’t just affected Epic — earlier this month, Barnes & Noble removed the ability to buy digital books from its Android app, while Audible now lets you use a debit or credit card to buy Audible titles. Google appears to avoid paying fees. And in this case, Google has offered Bandcamp a 10 percent discount instead of 30.
Google offered to take only 10 percent revenue share from Bandcamp
Epic also notes that building the infrastructure to integrate Google’s billing system “will require significant time and effort” — right now, Bandcamp’s in-app solution is “fully integrated with PayPal. ” But then, as Epic acknowledges, Google announced these changes a year ago, and before Epic bought Bandcamp. It looks like Epic knew about the billing changes to come after buying the company.
And it wouldn’t be out of character for Epic to lay the groundwork for the already legal trap. Epic’s own internal email suggests it has set such a trap fortnite Case: “[T]Their goal is to engage Google in the legal battle over anti-trust,” Epic Marketing Director Haseeb Mail wrote in a September 2019 email. “If only we get rejected for offering Epic a payment solution. The battle begins. It’s gonna be fun!”
You can read two such emails here — see items #35 and #38. And you can read the full speed reading embedded below.
