Google and Spotify exploring user choice billing

Swedish audio streaming company Spotify and Google recently announced a multi-year partnership to explore the implementation of user choice billing.

This pilot will see Spotify introducing Google Play's billing system alongside its current billing system.

Android users will be presented with a choice to pay with either Spotify's payment system or with Google Play Billing.

Both options will live side by side in the app, giving consumers the freedom to subscribe and make purchases using the payment option of their choice directly in the Spotify app. The first iteration of User Choice Billing is expected to be introduced later this year.

"Today, we are excited to announce a new chapter in our partnership with Google: a multiyear agreement that represents a first-of-its-kind option in payment choice and offers opportunities for both consumers and developers," Spotify wrote in a blog post earlier this week.

The Swedish firm said that it will work with Google's product and engineering teams to build this new experience, which will be rolled out in countries around the world.

They will test and learn, jointly exploring product innovations across Google's Android platform.

Commenting on this collaboration, Alex Norstrom, Chief Freemium Business Officer, said, "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.

In a separate blog post, Google said that it is partnering with developers to explore different implementations of user-choice billing, starting with Spotify.

The companies will work to innovate in how consumers make in-app purchases, deliver engaging experiences across multiple devices, and bring more consumers to the Android platform.

"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," said Sameer Samat, Vice President, Product Management at Google.