To abide by Apple’s rules, Spotify included its legal team in the product development process and tapped a former start-up founder with a law degree, Nir Zicherman, to spearhead the effort.Īpple initially approved the new feature in Spotify’s existing app before later reversing course, sending Spotify into what it considered to be a Kafkaesque world where Apple simultaneously told the audio company that it could send customers emails about online purchases but couldn’t provide a button inside its app to request those emails. The audiobook fracas offers a glimpse into the challenges developers face as they try to introduce new features. Since making an antitrust complaint against Apple in Europe in 2019, Spotify has urged regulators and lawmakers to give app developers the freedom to tell customers about ways to purchase products and services outside of Apple’s payment system, which many apps are required to use. Spotify views the conflict over audiobooks as another example of how Apple impedes competition and hampers rivals.

Audiobooks apple