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iTunes is an awful example, if not an outright counterexample. It's famously been run at nearly break-even for most of its life–its sole purpose was to sell App

• joshjkim 9y ago
  even worse for spotify: Tim Cook said that Apple isn't particularly interested in on Apple Music turning a profit - when asked the question directly, he responded: "you're right, we're not in it for the money. I think it’s important for artists. If we’re going to continue to have a great creative community, [artists] have to be funded."[1] I'd say his stated rationale for not caring about money (artists getting funded) is at best a low priority and at worst total fluff - they don't care because they make money on phones/hardware, and it also long-term allows them to price competitors (like spotify) out of the business (I don't think it's a coincidence that he gave this interview in the days before spotify's F-1 went public). to apple, streaming is an ongoing marketing campaign for their hardware and hey, if it breaks even great, but even at a loss they can make it up in hardware profits. I would not be surprised if apple is planning to waiting to announce a significant price or other change to Apple Music right before spotify's first or second quarterly earnings report - not very nice, but it would be a pretty smart thing to do. [1] https://www.fastcompany.com/40525409/why-apple-is-the-worlds-most-innovative-company?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=webfeeds https://www.fastcompany.com/40525409/why-apple-is-the-worlds...