Spotify Partners With Google to Offer User Choice Billing

Spotify has announced a partnership with Google that will let subscribers choose to pay their subscription fee using Google Play billing or Spotify's payment system.

Users who’ve downloaded Spotify from the Google Play Store will be presented with a choice to pay with either Spotify’s payment system or with Google Play Billing. For the first time, these two options will live side by side in the app. This will give everyone the freedom to subscribe and make purchases using the payment option of their choice directly in the Spotify app. Spotify will continue to freely communicate with users about our Premium subscription service, promote discounts and promotions, and give listeners on our Free tier the ability to convert to Premium directly in the app.

Spotify says it will work with Google engineers to build the new experience over the coming months. It will be rolled out in countries around the world starting later this year. The companies plan to work together to innovate in how consumers make in-app purchases, deliver engaging experiences across multiple devices, and bring more consumers to the Android platform.


Alex Norström, Chief Freemium Business Officer, commented, “Spotify is on a years-long journey to ensure app developers have the freedom to innovate and compete on a level playing field. We’re excited to be partnering with Google to explore this approach to payment choice and opportunities for developers, users, and the entire internet ecosystem. We hope the work we’ll do together blazes a path that will benefit the rest of the industry.”

“Android has always been about openness and user choice,” said Sameer Samat, Vice President, Product Management at Google. “This step is an important milestone for mobile app stores and I can’t imagine a better first partner than Spotify. They value choice as much as we do and understand the importance and continued investment in Android and Play to the health of the entire ecosystem. This is an exciting first step and we look forward to adding new partners and learning how this model could be expanded across the platform.”

Spotify has along pushed for platform fairness and expanded payment options. The company accuses Apple of unfair business practices to give Apple Music service an advantage and has filed a complaint with the EU and launched a website to present its case. Google's partnership with Spotify may be an effort to hold off antitrust legislation targeting app stores; however, recent reports have suggested that proposed measures will pass easily.

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