Get ready for a Spotify glow-up, EU users! Come March 7th, the audio giant drops some major upgrades when the Digital Markets Act hits. We’re talking long-awaited features like in-app subscriptions, audiobook purchasing, transparent pricing and more.
What spurred this iOS overhaul? Basically, Spotify got fed up playing by Apple’s strict (and costly) rules. They ditched expensive in-app payments back in 2016 over Apple’s 30% commission fee. By last year, Apple payments got the full botcott.
But the EU’s fresh regulations are a game-changer. They prohibit Apple from strong-arming app developers into padded pricing schemes. And they guarantee certain freedoms like alternative payment processing. Hello, cost savings!
That means EU subscribers can finally snag Premium, Duo and Family upgrades at transparent rates right in the Spotify app. No skeevy middleman fees raising prices, no external website payments. Just simple, economic transactions.
Users can also browse and buy handy audiobooks without leaving Spotify. And anticipated features like pricing displays and deal announcements won’t be gagged anymore. Total access within the app itself.
As Spotify put it: “It should be this easy for every single Spotify customer everywhere.” But for now, these perks remain limited to the EU.
The company plans to continue lobbying governments worldwide to pass more app liberation acts. Because while this update brings welcome iOS reforms, it highlights lingering injustices outside the EU.
Still, March 7th marks a major milestone toward consumer fairness. For EU users, get hype for the Spotify glow-up just around the corner! Everyone else, there’s hope yet for mobile liberty through policy reform.
