Spotify pulls music purchasing, downloads in UK service
updated 08:35 am EST, Fri January 4, 2013
New purchases stopped, gift cards still accepted
Spotify has stopped users in the United Kingdom from buying music tracks. A notice stating "We're no longer supporting new download purchases on Spotify" appears when users attempt to purchase songs on the service, with the link leading to the download store FAQ not offering any immediate explanation for the change in policy.
Originally spotted by Pocket-Lint and confirmed in testing by Electronista, the store goes as far as asking users to enter their account password for the purchase before preventing it from continuing. The accompanying FAQ does mention that re-downloads of tracks already owned can still take place, but once the limit has been reached, it will not allow a repurchase. Owners of Spotify gift cards will still be able to buy downloads, so long as it is a gift card with a "Downloads" option.
On being asked for comment for the reasoning behind the change, Spotify responded with "We recently updated Spotify to further simplify the service and pave the way for new features announced at the end of last year. In-app purchases aren't part of this update but we're not ruling out their return. Credits/gift cards already purchased are still redeemable."
Last month, the company revealed its rumored browser app, as well as refreshes to playlists, song discovery, and social aspects. It was also claimed the service had reached 20 million active global users, with 5 million as paying subscribers.
