Spotify hasn’t let new Premium subscribers pay for service using in-app purchases via Apple’s App Store since May 2016 — objecting to the tech giant’s “tax” on purchases made through the App Store.
There was only about a two-year window (from June 2014 to May 2016) during which Spotify Premium subs could opt to sign up and pay through the Apple App Store. Now, Spotify is no longer letting those customers continue paying through Apple’s in-app purchases.
In recent emails to those subscribers, Spotify said, “We’re contacting you because when you joined Spotify Premium you used Apple’s billing service to subscribe. Unfortunately, we no longer accept that billing method as a form of payment.”
The email notification tells Spotify customers that at the end of the final billing period, their account will “automatically switch to our Free, ad-supported service… If you wish to keep your Premium subscription, you will need to re-subscribe after your last billing period has ended and your account has been moved on to the Free account.” They will then need to choose to pay via one of the payment methods Spotify accepts, including credit cards and PayPal, to start the new subscription.
In a statement, a Spotify rep said the company recently began notifying “a small number of users that a legacy payment method, that their Premium account is attached to, is being deprecated. Users notified by email will automatically move to a Free account from their next billing cycle. Users will then have the option to upgrade to a Premium account by logging into their account at Spotify.”
The Spotify spokesperson added, “These actions will help ensure that we can continue to provide a consistent best-in-class subscription experience for all our users.”
Spotify has had a long-running feud with Apple, accusing Apple of employing anticompetitive tactics with its app store policies. In 2019, Spotify filed a formal complaint with the European Commission charging that Apple unfairly limits choice and competition through the App Store.
Spotify also objected to Google’s Play Store policies, which also take a percentage fee of purchases. But last year, Spotify and Google announced a multiyear agreement that will give users who have downloaded the Spotify Android app from the Google Play Store the choice to pay with either Spotify’s payment system or with Google Play Billing.
In the grand scheme of things, Spotify’s fully ending support for Apple in-app purchases won’t affect many customers. In a 2019 regulatory filing, Apple said it collected a 15% fee on subscription payments for just 680,000 of Spotify’s more than 100 million Premium subscribers.
