Spotify kills new download purchases in Europe
The company's downloading embargo is affecting U.K. users at the very least. Other European countries are affected as well, though it's unclear exactly which ones.
Spotify is no longer allowing new download purchases through its service in Europe.
The company posted an FAQ to its U.K. site recently, saying that it is "no longer supporting new download purchases on Spotify." The music service didn't provide further details, but noted that users can still use downloads that were already purchased. Music that was already downloaded but not yet used is not affected by the change.
In a statement to CNET, a Spotify spokesperson confirmed it stopped the purchase option, but said that "we're not ruling out their return." Spotify didn't say when purchases could make a return, but acknowledged that the move was made to "further simplify the service and pave the way for new features announced at the end of last year."
Spotify is available in about 20 countries, the vast majority of them in Europe. Downloads have never been made available to customers in the United States. Spotify's decision to stop download purchases affects customers in all places where that feature was previously available, a company rep told Pocket-lint. Spotify did not specify to Pocket-Lint or to CNET exactly which countries were affected.