After several years of lobbying skirmishes with Apple, Spotify is getting excited about the rollout of the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) from 7 March.
Why? Because of the new rules it says Apple will have to abide by in terms of what iOS app developers are allowed to do.
“The DMA means that we’ll finally be able to share details about deals, promotions, and better-value payment options in the EU,” was how Spotify described this. “And an easier experience for you means good things for artists, authors, and creators looking to build their audiences of listeners, concert-goers, and audiobook-loving fans.”
The company’s blog post has a collection of videos showing how its app experience will change once the DMA kicks in. The part that jumps out given recent music-industry discourse is this:
“We will be able to communicate clearly with you in the Spotify app about new products for sale, promotional campaigns, superfan clubs, and upcoming events, including when items like audiobooks are going on sale.”
Superfan clubs? Yes. They are mentioned later in the blog post too. “Thanks to the DMA we’re looking forward to a future of superfan clubs, alternative app stores, and giving creators the ability to safely download Spotify for Artists or Spotify for Podcasters directly from our site…”
Universal Music Group has made it clear recently that one of its priorities for 2024 are “superfan experiences” developed with its streaming-service partners. The company’s EVP, chief digital officer Michael Nash expanded on what those might be in his keynote at our Music Ally Connect conference this week.
“Everything from early access to forms of premium content, to digital collectibles to fan badging and gamification modification of the fan experience,” he said. “Access to artists. Some platforms are in a position to to deliver a physical product in association with a digital subscription…”
Spotify’s vision of ‘superfan clubs’ may or may not match all of those suggested examples, but it’s clear that something significant is brewing.
More rows between Spotify and Apple may also be brewing, mind. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Apple is planning to add “new fees and restrictions” when it starts to comply with the DMA. A similar move in the US already sparked fury from Spotify last week.
If experimentation with superfan-focused tiers were to be stymied by regulatory battles, it would be very frustrating. But we’ll await the concrete moves of Spotify, Apple, UMG and other companies before jumping to judgement on that.
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