Apple approves Spotify update after being ordered to stop charging app commissions

Spotify said on Friday that Apple approved an update after a US federal judge ordered the tech giant to stop charging commission on purchases made through apps – threatening possible criminal contempt proceedings.

The music app quickly turned around an update on Thursday, which will allow users to access pricing information, links to make purchases and more payment options, the company said in a blog post.

“After nearly a decade, this will finally allow us to freely show clear pricing information and links to purchase, fostering transparency and choice for US consumers,” Spotify said, calling it a “victory for consumers, artists, creators and authors.”

Spotify said Apple on Friday approved an update after a judge ruled the company must stop imposing commissions on off-app purchases. AP

“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.”

Spotify users will be able to purchase a subscription, or upgrade or change their plan, through the music app, instead of being taken to an external website. With the update, customers can also use payment options other than Apple’s own system, the blog post said.

Its approval comes after Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on Wednesday ruled Apple willfully violated a 2021 injunction from a case involving Epic Games, and held the company in contempt of court.

Apple’s vice president of finance, Alex Roman, “outright lied” to the court about the timing of a 27% fee on certain purchases linked to its App Store, Rogers said.

She ordered Apple to stop imposing the commission on purchases made through links in iPhone apps, adding that she passed the matter to US attorneys to investigate whether to pursue criminal contempt proceedings on Roman and the company.

Apple said it will comply with Rogers’ decision, though it “strongly” disagrees and will appeal the ruling.

Spotify quickly turned around an update with more pricing transparency and payment options. REUTERS

In a 2021 decision from the Epic Games case, which was appealed in 2023, Rogers ordered Apple to make changes to its app store – allowing developers to link to their own websites inside iPhone apps, so customers could make purchases outside of the Apple system.

Under this original ruling, it was expected that Apple would not level commissions on off-app purchases, Rogers wrote.

But in 2024, Apple introduced a new policy so it could collect a 27% fee from some of those purchases – barely less than the 30% it collects on in-app purchases.

Rogers wrote that Apple chose “the most anticompetitive option” at every turn for all of its purchase-linking policies.

Epic Games also won a suit against the Google Play store in 2024, when a federal judge ordered the company to allow alternative app stores on devices.