Photo credit: Sourabh Jhajharia
After months of disputes with the iPhone maker, Spotify will update its app on Apple devices in the European Union and include pricing plans for its services.
Spotify has been at loggerheads with Apple over Apple’s taxes and restrictions on developers in the App Store for what seems like an eternity, but now things are changing. Spotify will finally update its app on Apple devices in the European Union this week to include the prices of its various plans and services – more than three months after Apple rejected the change.
“While this is progress, it is just a small step on the long journey to give iPhone users the core product experiences they expect and deserve in their apps,” Spotify said.
Apple initially balked at Spotify’s proposal due to the company’s refusal to accept Apple’s Music Streaming Services Entitlement. The newly published terms govern how music streaming apps in the EU inform their users of all their options when it comes to making a purchase. According to Apple, accepting the music streaming terms did not require an external link for payment.
The Stockholm-based music streaming giant has now agreed to these terms, but its updated app will no longer provide an external link through which users can make purchases, but will only show their options for doing so. Spotify has long resisted paying Apple a commission on these transactions for the privilege of having its app hosted on the App Store.
But Apple has been gradually making it easier for music streaming services to communicate with iOS device users in the EU since April – just a month after the company was fined in the region for “hindering competition” from other music streaming services through its App Store restrictions.
Spotify reported a promising second quarter in which the company was able to cut costs, increase subscribers and improve its margins. Still, the platform lags behind Apple and Amazon in terms of high-resolution audio offerings. Earlier this summer, Spotify expanded its services by adding video support for all podcasts on the platform.
