Google is testing “Third-Party Billing” on Play Store. Spotify will be the first beneficiary

Google has begun a test program that will allow a small number of participating developers to offer an additional third-party billing option next to Google Play’s own billing system in their apps. Spotify will be the first app to participate and has announced a “multiyear agreement” with Google. This means that it will provide both the Google Play billing system and a third-party option.

“We’ll be partnering with developers to explore different implementations of user-choice billing, starting with Spotify,” the tech giant noted in a news update, stating that the goal is to increase its understanding of whether and how user choice billing works for users in different countries and for developers of different sizes and categories.

Spotify said that the pilot will be available in all countries where Spotify Premium is available, which is 184 countries around the world at the same time. Google, on the other hand, said that the pilot will start in a few markets and grow over time. It’s not yet clear which regions will be the first.

When the pilot goes live, Spotify will use its own billing system as well as Google Play’s. Google mentioned that the reason Spotify is the “natural first partner” is because it is “one of the world’s largest subscription developers with a global footprint,” and it has “integrations across a wide range of device form factors.” The tech giant, however, did not say which other developers it has lined up for future tests.

Google said that the pilot is still in its early stages and that it will be tweaking the system as it continues to build and add modifications with the new Spotify agreement. It’s worth noting that the company had already decreased commissions from 30% to 15% for the first $1 million in sales generated by developers using the Play billing system, following Apple’s lead. Since the change in pricing strategy, 99 percent of developers are now eligible for a service fee of 15% or less on the firm’s app store, the company claims.

VP of Product Management at Google Sameer Samat said, “Android has always been about being open and giving people the power to choose.” “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.”