Spotify Gains Approval to Show Pricing Info to EU Users in iPhone App

Spotify announces that Apple has approved the company to show pricing information within its iOS app for customers in the European Union.

iPhone users within the EU will have a better look at Spotify’s pricing information simply by looking into the mobile app, the company confirmed on Wednesday. This follows after a string of legal conflicts between Spotify and Apple.

The company also notes that EU customers can go to the company’s website to purchase items directly. “EU iPhone consumers will now benefit from seeing our end of summer promotional pricing,” Spotify says in the blog post. “They’ll also finally be able to see how much a Premium plan of their choosing costs once the promotion ends.” Spotify also confirms that this won’t impact consumers on Android or other platforms.

As of now, Spotify will not be opting in for Apple’s new policies under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Instead, the company is opting for Apple’s “entitlement”  for music streaming services. This follows as a result of the European Commission’s decision to fine Apple €1.8 billion (around $2.7 billion CAD). Apple was found to have violated the EU’s antitrust laws on March 4 of this year.

While Spotify states is making progress for its users in the EU, the company is still unable to allow customers to click a link and make purchases from outside of the App Store. This is due to Spotify’s unwillingness to opt into Apple’s new policies. The trade-off from opting in and adopting a link-out experience is having to give Apple a cut from those sales.

“Unfortunately, Spotify and all music streaming services in the EU are still not able to freely give consumers a simple opportunity to click a link to purchase in app because of the illegal and predatory taxes Apple continues to demand, despite the Commission’s ruling,” Spotify says.

However, Spotify says “the fight continues” and states that if and when the European Commission enforces its decisions, iPhone users will see benefits such as low-cost payment options and ” better product experiences in the app.”