Deciding to take its payment methods into its own hands, world-renowned music streaming platform, Spotify, has announced that it is deprecating the option for existing paid subscribers to make their payments via the Apple App Store. Henceforth, subscribers used to this payment pathway will be automatically switched to a free membership at the conclusion of their current payment cycle. To continue enjoying premium services, members must now transition to a payment plan through Spotify's official website.
Variety was the first to report this development, indicating that Spotify recently began sending out emails to users currently making their payments via the Apple App Store. In a statement, the music streaming giant confirmed this reconfiguration of payment options.
A representative from Spotify stated, A small fraction of our users were recently made aware that a traditional payment method associated with their Premium accounts was being phased out. All impacted users received an email notification of this change, and they will automatically transition to a Free account from their next billing cycle. Users will then have the flexibility to upgrade to a Premium account by logging onto their account at Spotify.com. These measures form part of our commitment to delivering a consistent, top-notch subscription experience for all our users.
Spotify has not provided subscriptions via in-app purchases on iPhones since 2016. The company only offered this service through the App Store for a two-year period, which began in 2014. Afterward, Spotify displayed a message stating, You can’t upgrade to premium in the app, we know, it’s not ideal on iPhones.
The relationship between Spotify and Apple has been strained due to disputes over the App Store's fees for almost a decade. At present, the Cupertino-based tech firm is defending its case to European regulators against Spotify's antitrust allegations.
Moreover, Spotify has had similar conflicts with Google over charges related to in-app purchases made through the Play Store. However, the two entities reached an accord in the previous year, permitting Spotify to test out alternative billing options.
In the Q1 2023 earnings call earlier this year, Spotify disclosed that it has a user base of more than 500 million monthly active users, and over 210 million premium subscribers.
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