For years, Spotify customers have been unable to pay through Apple’s App Store or Google Play, as the audio streamer hit back at the tech giant’s demand to pay more than 30% of payments processed through its platform. has given.
Now, Spotify and Google have reached out to the issue.
The companies announced a multi-year agreement on Wednesday that will give users who have downloaded the Spotify Android app from the Google Play Store the option to pay with either Spotify’s payment system or Google Play billing.
For the first time, the two payment options will co-exist in the app. Spotify will pay Google a cut in subscription fees under the new arrangement—a few percent less than 30%, but no company will confirm what that number is for any purchases made through Google’s App Store. Is.
Spotify has publicly raided the practices adopted by Google and Apple’s App Store. Spotify still doesn’t allow customers to pay through Apple’s App Store. Spotify joins Epic Games, the maker of “Fortnite,” in the game company’s legal challenge to Apple App Store policies for developers.
Under their regular policies, both Apple and Google collect 30% of first-year subscription payments; which reduces to 15% starting in the second year of membership.
The new agreement “will give everyone the freedom to subscribe and make purchases directly in the Spotify app using the payment option of their choice,” Spotify said in a blog announcing the Google deal. Spotify said it will “continue to freely communicate with users about our premium subscription service, promote discounts and promotions, and give listeners on our free tier the ability to convert to premium directly in the app.”
Over the next few months, Spotify said, it will work with Google’s product and engineering teams to create new experiences. Google and Spotify expect to roll out the first iteration of “user choice billing” later this year.
“Spotify is on a year-long journey to ensure that app developers have the freedom to innovate and compete on a level playing field,” Alex Norstrom, Spotify’s chief freemium business officer, said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with Google to explore this approach to payment options and opportunities for developers, users, and the entire Internet ecosystem. We hope that the work we do together will open a way , which will benefit the rest of the industry.”
Sameer Samat, Google’s Vice President of Product Management, commented: “This move is a significant milestone for the mobile app store and I can’t imagine a better first partner than Spotify. They value choice as much as we do.” and understand the importance and continued investment in Android and Play for the health of the entire ecosystem. This is an exciting first step and we look forward to adding new partners and learning how to extend this model across platforms. May go. “
optional screen reader
