Daniel Ek, co-founder and chief executive officer of Spotify Technology SA, during the Acquired LIVE event at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Spotify on Friday said Apple has approved the company’s U.S. app update, which will allow users to access pricing information, links to make purchases and select from more payment options within the music streaming app.
The approval comes after a U.S. federal judge on Wednesday ordered Apple to stop imposing the commissions it makes on purchases through web links inside an iPhone app. Spotify acted quickly on the order, submitting a new app update on Thursday.
“After nearly a decade, this will finally allow us to freely show clear pricing information and links to purchase,” Spotify spokesperson Jeanne Moran said in a statement.
“There is more work to do, but today represents a significant milestone for developers and entrepreneurs everywhere who want to build and compete on a more level playing field,” she added.
Spotify users will now be able to see how much something costs in the app, including information on the company’s subscriptions and promotions. Users can purchase their subscription of choice through the app, and upgrade or change their plan if they choose. Spotify said customers can also use payment methods other than Apple’s system through the update, according to a blog post.
Apple said Wednesday it will comply with the court’s order, but strongly disagrees with the decision and will appeal.
Spotify is one of the first known apps to get a new update opening up purchases. The new update is listed as the 9.0.40 update in the App Store.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers’ order is related to Apple’s case against Fortnite maker Epic Games, which was decided in 2021 and appealed in 2023. On Wednesday, she said Apple willfully tried to violate her ruling, and held the company in contempt.
Additionally, Rogers wrote that Apple’s Vice President of Finance Alex Roman “outright lied” about when Apple had decided to charge a 27% fee on some purchases linked to its App Store. Rogers referred the matter to U.S. attorneys to investigate whether to pursue criminal contempt proceedings on both Roman and Apple.
Epic Games also won a challenge against the Google Play store.
A federal judge in October 2024 ordered the company to allow alternatives to its Google Play store for downloading apps and restricted it from paying companies for exclusivity or for preinstalling the app store on devices.
Google and Apple’s app stores were taking in 15% to 30% of in-app sales for high-grossing apps.
–CNBC’s Kif Leswing contributed to this report
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