After much back and forth earlier this year, Spotify announced on Wednesday that it had received approval from Apple to display pricing information in its iOS app for EU users. The company is taking advantage of new antitrust guidelines that the EU imposed specifically on music streaming apps, rather than agreeing to Apple's new business rules under the EU's Digital Markets Act.
In March, Apple was fined 1.84 billion euros ($2 billion) by European regulators for antitrust violations in the market. Spotify and Apple are also in talks over an app update that would allow the music streaming service to share pricing information with EU users.
Spotify has announced that an update to its app has been approved that will allow it to display prices for Spotify subscriptions and other digital products, including its recently added collection of audiobooks.
The latter includes the ability to display prices for subscription plans that include streaming audiobooks, as well as the ability to display “top-off” minutes that users can purchase to complete an audiobook listen, and à la carte prices for audiobooks.
But what Spotify can't share is a link to its website. Doing so would require the company to pay Apple a 27% commission on those sales, which it has no intention of paying. Instead, text within the app can only direct users to Spotify's website, without mentioning the domain name and .com address. Spotify said Apple won't allow it to include the text “spotify.com” even without a hyperlink, to avoid paying the commission.
Screenshot image credit: Spotify
To coincide with the release of pricing information, Spotify will be running a promotion in the EU encouraging users to upgrade their subscription plan via their website, and this information has always worked fine on Android.
Spotify says its current promotion offers the first three months of its service for free before any subscription starts.
The move is a small step toward Spotify's goal of serving its customers through its own fee-free payments platform, but the company plans to keep fighting for what it really wants: the ability to link to its website from its iOS app and make purchases without paying Apple a fee.
“While this is progress, it is only a small step on the long journey to delivering the fundamental product experience that iPhone consumers expect and should enjoy in apps – an experience that users of other phones already enjoy,” the company said in a blog post announcing the change. “Unfortunately, the unlawful and predatory taxes that Apple continues to demand despite the European Commission's ruling mean that Spotify and all music streaming services in the EU remain unable to freely offer consumers the simple opportunity to click a link and make an in-app purchase,” the company said.