Alphabet Inc's Google said it would lower the fees subscription-based apps pay to the Play Store by up to 15%. This follows criticism of its fee structure from big companies like Spotify. Currently, developers pay a 30% subscription fee in the first year, and 15% thereafter.
"We've heard that customer upheaval is making it difficult for subscription businesses to benefit from the reduced rates. So we've simplified things to make sure they can do it," Google said in a blog post.
The new structure will start in January 2022 or next year and is likely to encourage developers to switch from a one-time payment mode to a subscription, as reported by Gadgets Now.
E-book companies and on-demand music streaming services, which use the bulk of their sales to pay for content fees, will now be eligible for service fees as low as 10%.
Previously, Google has come under fire from big companies such as Microsoft Corp., Spotify Technology SA, as well as start-ups and smaller companies, who accuse the fees of weighing consumer choice.
In March, Google also said that it would cut the service fees that developers charge on its app store by half from the first $1 million they earned in the past year.