Apple’s anticompetitive policies directly impact your experience on the Spotify app.
Let us give you an example. We first launched Audiobooks in September 2022 to connect listeners with their favorite authors and introduce people to a form of storytelling they may have never tried otherwise. To kick off this exciting chapter, we wanted users to be able to complete an a la carte audiobook purchase in a single click.
But Apple stood in the way, and instead of being able to simply open the app and click “buy,” our engineers were forced to create a complicated, multistep process for audiobooks that users don’t want or deserve.
The result? Confusion for users.
But that’s not all.
Outside of the audiobooks issue, we can’t do any of these things on Apple’s operating system:
Tell customers outside of the EU what our prices are to upgrade to Premium membership options
Freely allow consumers to click a link to purchase in our app
Let our customers request an email or other communication telling them about the ways they can save money
Provide our customers with different payment options beyond what Apple mandates (e.g., a credit card or PayPal, etc.)
Deliver new product enhancements or introduce new features to our customers without Apple’s explicit approval
What Spotify Could Be Without Apple’s Restrictions
Currently, our customers see a user experience that is as great as we can make it, but not as great as it could be.
The only solution? New laws, like the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC) in the UK, that, if properly enforced, can ensure that consumers see all the options available to them, and all of the pricing plans they can consider in the Spotify app—a huge upgrade from the limits Apple places on apps like us today.
We were optimistic that a law to achieve just that, the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), would finally let us bring a better Spotify to consumers in Europe. But, as Apple keeps showing the world, even with the new law, they think the rules don’t apply to them. Apple announced a series of “changes” that violate the law and negate its goals. Apple still won’t let apps like Spotify update services in the EU for consumers, even though the DMA required them to change their behavior.
But if the DMA were enforced effectively–and if other laws around the world were properly implemented–Spotify consumers would be able to see:
- Pricing for subscriptions, audiobooks, and other digital goods in-app
- Pricing for different subscriptions, like Individual, Duo, or Family
- Money-saving promotions
- Seamless ways to buy items in-app