As described in a new update to its Time to Play Fair website, Spotify has faced the ire of App Review over its attempt to launch an audiobooks store inside the Spotify app on iPhone. The app was rejected three times by App Review due to violations of Apple’s In-App Purchase rules, before finally being approved on Tuesday. The eventually-approved app experience entails a nine step process, far more complicated than Spotify ideally wanted to offer, to comply with App Store rules.
Spotify says this is yet another case of Apple’s anticompetitive dominance on the app economy. Spotify first filed a formal complaint to the European Commission back in 2019 The commission is still investigating.
Spotify’s original aim was to offer a simple store experience inside the Spotify app for users to browse and purchase audiobooks. This would mean opening the Spotify app, finding an audiobook and buying directly inside the app. However, as they don’t want to give Apple a 30% cut of the revenue, they are not allowed to offer in-app book purchasing. Instead, they must direct users to the web instead.
However, Apple also carefully regulates how apps can inform users in the app that a store experience is available outside the app.
So, Spotify set out to create a flow that not fall foul of Apple’s rules. As reported by the New York Times, Spotify said that two lawyers were intimately involved with the design and development process. This resulted in a convoluted nine step process that involved opting in to receive an email that would include the audiobook’s price and a link to purchase it.
After initially approving the app, Apple blocked subsequent Spotify app submissions. Spotify changed the flow to not include a purchase button in the received email. Instead, the email would link to Spotify’s store on the web. Apple rejected this, too.
Apple said apps are not allowed to send a direct call-to-action email to users in lieu of offering in-app purchases. Spotify finally relented and removed the email steps and all links to the web store. Customers are now expected to know that they need to navigate to the Spotify website in order to make a purchase. Apple approved this version of the app this week.
Nothing in this retelling is particularly surprising — Apple’s rules around IAP are relatively clear here and Spotify has fought Apple over very similar points before — but it’s another opportunity for Spotify to highlight what it sees as an unfair playing ground. Apple certainly isn’t budging unless a court compels them to.
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