In the official blog, music streaming giant Spotify announced that it has finally received Apple"s approval to show pricing information to European Union users in the iPhone app. Moreover, users can visit the company"s website to purchase items directly.
Spotify said, "EU iPhone consumers will now benefit from seeing our end of summer promotional pricing. They"ll also finally be able to see how much a Premium plan of their choosing costs once the promotion ends."
This change comes three months after Apple rejected a Spotify app update, which included promotional offers and directed users to its website to sign up. Spotify has accused Apple of anti-competitive practices in the music streaming business for many years.
Spotify accused Apple of giving Apple Music an unfair advantage over its app since iPhone owners can purchase a subscription within the app, while Spotify would have been required to pay Apple a 30% cut to do the same. Apple didn"t even allow Spotify to display subscription pricing within the app. That finally changes.
However, even after taking Apple"s entitlement for music streaming services (via MacRumors), a result of the European Commission"s decision on March 4, Spotify still cannot offer its users the option to click a link to purchase outside of the App Store. Spotify says:
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.
The fight continues. iPhone consumers everywhere deserve basic information about how much things cost, when they can take advantage of great deals and promotions, and where to go to buy those things online. If the European Commission properly enforces its decision, iPhone consumers could see even more wins, like lower cost payment options and better product experiences in the app.
Spotify made an antitrust complaint against Apple in 2019, and recently, in March of this year, an EU investigation found Apple guilty and fined the Cupertino-based company €2 billion.