Google is working with the music streaming app Spotify to test out third-party billing options for app developers.
Google is introducing a pilot to let a small number of participating developers offer a payment system in addition to Google Play. Spotify will be the first and will use both Google Play billing system and its own.
The pilot will help us to increase our understanding f whether and how user option billing works for users in different countries and for developers of different sizes and categories. Google plans to share more information about the program in the coming months.
This pilot is still early days and we will have more detail to share in the coming months but our aim is to have pilot developers live with user option billing in 2022 in key markets. Attributes on its plans to allow extra billing systems in South Korea which Google made in response to legislation passed in South Korea last year.
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Apple must also permit third party payment systems in the country as a result of the legislation and the agency has committed to doing so at some point. Spotify is calling its partnership with Google a multiyear agreement and we don’t know how the agreement may affect Google fees it takes from purchases made in the spotify app using the play billing system.
Apple and Google have come under intense criticism from developers and legislators over the fees they take from purchases on their digital stress and because on their digital stores and because developers cannot use third party in app payment systems.
Spotify has been a vocal critic of Apple app store fee for years even filing an antitrust complaint over the Apple tax against the agency in 2019 so it’s perhaps no surprise that the agency is the first known partner with Google on this new initiative.
