Spotify will let users take out subscriptions via the iOS app from March

Spotify users can take out a subscription via the iOS app from March. Now they can’t do that, because Spotify disagrees with the commission that Apple charges and Spotify is currently not allowed to refer customers to its own site for a subscription.

The streaming service says From March, iOS users will be informed in the Spotify app about the various subscriptions the company offers and the associated prices. Users also receive information about, for example, offers for podcasts. Spotify also allows users to take out and pay for subscriptions within the app; it does not say which payment system is used for this. The same price will apply as what must be paid for Spotify on other platforms and in the browser.

Spotify will be able to communicate about this in the app thanks to the EU law DMA, also known as the Digital Markets Act. This will come into effect from March 7. This law no longer allows Apple to prevent companies from offering offers and contracts outside the App Store. Currently, iOS apps must use Apple’s payment system and pay a thirty percent commission to Apple. Services may not refer customers to, for example, a website where the service is cheaper to purchase. That’s why Spotify doesn’t currently offer subscriptions in the iOS app.

The streaming service complained to the European Commission in March 2019 about the commission that Apple asks and the communication restrictions that Apple imposes. Following this complaint, the European Commission started an investigation. According to Bloomberg sources, the Commission wants to decide on the basis of this research that music services on iOS may refer to alternative subscription options outside the App Store.