Continue on tug of war between Spotify and Apple regarding the sale of audiobooks via the app. The Swedish streaming giant has now suspended the ability to purchase audiobooks directly in-app on all iOS devices. The move comes after Apple challenged transitions on third-party sites that bypassed the AppStore.
The new audiobooks feature had been met with enormous enthusiasm by users (according to The Verge). But now, one month later, if you try to buy an audiobook on Spotify, the following message appears:
“Do you want to listen? You cannot purchase audiobooks in the app. We know, it’s not ideal “
Furthermore, Spotify does not indicate any way to make the purchase outside of the app. Outside of iOS, when purchasing through the app, Spotify sends an email to the user with a link to finalize the transaction. Maneuver obviously unwelcome to Apple, and in the next paragraph we will explain why.
Apple vs Spotify: Two heavyweights vie for the audiobook market
The two giants have diametrically opposed positions on the audiobook issue. On the one hand, Spotify would like, as it already does on other operating systems, to be able to freely sell its audiobooks, directly from the app, by processing payments on third-party sites. Apple disputes this maneuver as it completely bypasses the AppStore (from which it takes a percentage of each transaction).
The Apple Insider site reports that in the past month Apple has reportedly rejected the Sporify app update three times, arguing that the latter violates the App Store rules regarding purchases. In response Spotify accused Apple of implementing anti-competitive maneuvers.
Spotify has now urged lawmakers to regulate in-app purchases, to allow developers to sell services and products without necessarily going through the AppStore. At the base there are certainly economic reasons: Apple currently retains a 30% commission on each purchase made through the App Store.
The issue had already been at the center of the attention of the Japan Fair Trade Commissionwhich last year opened an investigation into Apple’s potentially anti-competitive policies.