Spotify ends Apple in-app payment for premium subscribers

San Francisco: Music streaming giant Spotify has started informing its users who have subscribed to its Premium service through Apple's in-app purchase system that it will no longer support it as a payment method.

Since May 2016, the company has not allowed new Premium subscribers to pay for service through Apple’s in-app purchase, citing the tech giant's "tax" on App Store purchases, reports Variety.

However, those who had previously subscribed to Spotify using that method could continue to do so until now.

The company is now emailing affected subscribers about the upcoming change.

"We’re contacting you because when you joined Spotify Premium you used Apple’s billing service to subscribe. Unfortunately, we no longer accept that billing method as a form of payment," Spotify was quoted as saying.

Moreover, the email notification informs Spotify customers that their account will "automatically switch to our Free, ad-supported service… If you wish to keep your Premium subscription, you will need to re-subscribe after your last billing period has ended and your account has been moved on to the Free account".

To begin the new subscription, users must choose one of the payment methods accepted by Spotify, including credit cards and PayPal, the report said.

Spotify and Apple have had a long-running dispute, with Spotify accusing Apple of anti-competitive practices.

In February, the European Commission updated its anti-trust case against Apple, sending a fresh statement of objections to the tech giant clarifying its concerns over App Store rules for music streaming providers.

The Commission said that Apple breached antitrust laws by stopping rival music firms like Spotify from advertising where and how users could subscribe to their apps.

According to the statement of objections, Apple abused its dominant position by imposing its own in-app purchase payment technology on music streaming app developers and restricting app developers' ability to inform iPhone and iPad users of alternative music subscription services.