What’s one of the top complaints about Spotify? It’s actually something that until now has been outside of our control: the ability to seamlessly subscribe to and buy things through Spotify on your iPhone. Consumers have asked us for years about the dead ends, lack of information, and endless hoops to jump through just to purchase a subscription or audiobook. But beginning March 7, if you live in the European Union, that will change. With the Digital Markets Act (DMA) rolling out, your Spotify is about to become a whole lot better, and that means more opportunities for developers and creators everywhere.
For years, even in our own app, Apple had these rules where we couldn’t tell you about offers, how much something costs, or even where or how to buy it. We know, pretty nuts. The DMA means that we’ll finally be able to share details about deals, promotions, and better-value payment options in the EU. And an easier experience for you means good things for artists, authors, and creators looking to build their audiences of listeners, concert-goers, and audiobook-loving fans. What’s more? All of this can now come without the burden of a mandatory ~30% tax imposed by Apple, which is prohibited under the DMA.
For Spotify, this unleashes huge opportunities, so here’s what you can expect us to roll out starting in March:
Direct communications in the Spotify app about subscription offerings, upgrades, product prices, deals, and promotions
We’ll soon be able to give you information in the Spotify app about prices for things like Premium subscriptions and audiobooks.
And we will be able to communicate clearly with you in the Spotify app about new products for sale, promotional campaigns, superfan clubs, and upcoming events, including when items like audiobooks are going on sale.
Seamless and secure in-app payment
Soon we expect that if you want to buy a Premium subscription or an audiobook, or are looking to seamlessly upgrade from Individual to a Duo or Family plan to save money, you will be able to do so with just a couple of easy clicks.
Right now you can’t upgrade from Free to Premium in the app, and we’re not even allowed to tell you about how much our various subscriptions cost, how you can save money, or where to purchase them. That doesn’t make sense. For everyone living in the EU, this is about to change.
Purchasing an audiobook directly
You will have choices. In the growing list of markets where we offer audiobooks, for the first time you will be able to see the price of an audiobook when browsing, easily buy it, and quickly start listening.
Downloading other Spotify apps onto your iPhone
Thanks to the DMA we’re looking forward to a future of superfan clubs, alternative app stores, and giving creators the ability to safely download Spotify for Artists or Spotify for Podcasters directly from our site—and that’s just the start.
The fight continues
It should be this easy for every single Spotify customer everywhere. But if you live outside certain markets, you will continue to encounter frustrating roadblocks because of Apple’s ridiculous rules.
That’s why developers everywhere are continuing to ask other governments to pass their own laws like the DMA. Like Spotify, they want to provide the best user experience for their customers. We’ll keep fighting because freedom from gatekeepers means more choice for consumers and positive impact for artists, authors, creators and developers everywhere.
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