Spotify can use own in-app payment option in new Android pilot

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Google and Spotify will be giving you options on what payment system to use. The search giant introduces this new pilot program to counter the concerns of app makers about its high fees and alleged anticompetitive behavior. So, when users download Spotify from the Play Store, they will get an option of either Spotify's payment system or Google Play Billing. This option will be available in some countries in the coming months. 

The pilot involves a small number of participating developers, beginning with Spotify. "This pilot will help us to increase our understanding of whether and how user choice billing works for users in different countries and for developers of different sizes and categories," Google said in a blog post. 

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Spotify to introduce more controls to collaborative playlists

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If you use Spotify's collaborative playlists, you will be getting access to more controls. Spotify is introducing new levels of controls for these playlists. You will get the option to invite or remove users from collaborating. You can set these playlists to private, so only those with access to it can listen, view, or search for these mixes. And you can add or remove users who contribute or follow them. According to the company, it plans to roll out these options beginning this week.

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Spotify invests in podcast advertising with Chartable, Podsights acquisitions

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Spotify has just announced it bought two major podcast ad tech companies, Chartable and Podsights, to offer more features to its podcast advertisers and podcasters. Podsights will help its advertisers view more detailed information on who clicked on an ad and what actions they took (like buying the product).

As for Chartable, Spotify will offer the company's two promotional tools (SmartLinks and SmartPromos) to its podcasters. SmartLinks offers "shareable, trackable URLs that automatically route listeners to their podcasts." It'll provide data on both podcast clicks and downloads. While SmartPromos lets podcasters see which ads result in the most downloads, allowing them to measure the success of ad campaigns.

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Spotify to label podcasts discussing COVID-19

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Spotify is finally responding to criticism of how it handles the controversial COVID-19 content in the Joe Rogan Experience. The company said it would add COVID-19 content advisories to podcasts, and that advisory will lead to Spotify's COVID-19 hub, hosting credible and up-to-date information about the pandemic.

Spotify has also made public its COVID-19 content policy to improve transparency around the issue's treatment. The Verge got a copy of the policy ahead of the platform's release and wrote about how an internal memo showed that Joe Rogan's podcast didn't "meet the threshold for removal."

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