4 ms·

Making it so your data structures in a Saas platform can't instantly be ported to a competitor is standard and a no-brainer business practice in my opinion. Sp

by fjp 8y ago

Making it so your data structures in a Saas platform can't instantly be ported to a competitor is standard and a no-brainer business practice in my opinion. Spotify's complaint against Apple is that they're abusing the App Store platform to an anticompetitive end because non-Apple apps have disadvantages on the platform that Apple's competing apps don't. I think this owning-the-platform-while-also-selling-on-it situation we see Apple, Amazon, and others in is something that we will see formal regulations appear on in the coming decade.

wheelie_boy 8y ago
So would it be similar if Spotify created some of the media that it put on its own platform? For example if it just bought two podcast companies?
- fjp 8y ago
  I would assume there would not be the same application of antitrust law, if any (IANAL) because Spotify isn't a marketplace that sells the podcasts. That situation would be more comparable to Netflix since you're just paying a bundled subscription and you're getting 3rd-party work as well as Netflix originals. While openness would be awesome to have, they don't really have any obligation to provide it. Of course it's not exactly like Netflix since you can self-publish onto Spotify so there's wrinkles. But my point is that it's a lot different than operating a buying/selling marketplace.
  - wheelie_boy 8y ago
    Because spotify owns the podcast companies, and podcasts have paid ads, spotify directly benefits if they are played more often. That is not the case with netflix. But they are doing some things the same as netflix, in that they are also creating exclusive podcasts to drive traffic to their platform.
    - solarkraft 8y ago
      > That is not the case with netflix It is. They do a lot of product placement (https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/is-product-placement-going-to-become-the-norm-in-netflix-originals/ https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/is-product-placement-g...). They also don't have to pay others for views, though I expect that to be less of a motivation.
solarkraft 8y ago
But it's not new. Physical stores have had own brands for a super long time. How is software different?
- fjp 8y ago
  I think it's the kind of thing that doesn't matter unless you can argue that a single company has monopoly control of marketplace

by fjp 8y ago

wheelie_boy 8y ago

So would it be similar if Spotify created some of the media that it put on its own platform? For example if it just bought two podcast companies?

fjp 8y ago
I would assume there would not be the same application of antitrust law, if any (IANAL) because Spotify isn't a marketplace that sells the podcasts. That situation would be more comparable to Netflix since you're just paying a bundled subscription and you're getting 3rd-party work as well as Netflix originals. While openness would be awesome to have, they don't really have any obligation to provide it. Of course it's not exactly like Netflix since you can self-publish onto Spotify so there's wrinkles. But my point is that it's a lot different than operating a buying/selling marketplace.
- wheelie_boy 8y ago
  Because spotify owns the podcast companies, and podcasts have paid ads, spotify directly benefits if they are played more often. That is not the case with netflix. But they are doing some things the same as netflix, in that they are also creating exclusive podcasts to drive traffic to their platform.
  - solarkraft 8y ago
    > That is not the case with netflix It is. They do a lot of product placement (https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/is-product-placement-going-to-become-the-norm-in-netflix-originals/ https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/is-product-placement-g...). They also don't have to pay others for views, though I expect that to be less of a motivation.

solarkraft 8y ago

But it's not new. Physical stores have had own brands for a super long time. How is software different?

fjp 8y ago
I think it's the kind of thing that doesn't matter unless you can argue that a single company has monopoly control of marketplace