Spotify has issues with Apple for the way it treats third party apps in the App Store. The company co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek, on company’s blog post, has expressed his frustration with Apple stating that the company dictates Internet, is causing harm to Internet economy and is ultimately choking competition. He’s also said that Apple forces iOS users to jump through extra steps to receive Spotify service on their system. Amidst all this it seems that the music-streaming service has now pulled out the audiobook offerings from its iOS app.
In its latest move to express its dislike for Apple’s ecosystem for third-party apps, Spotify has removed audiobook purchasing option for iOS users. Spotify app on iOS now no longer offers audiobooks for buying. Reportedly, the app states that users can no longer make audiobook purchases in the app when they want to buy an audiobook. Worst part is that the users are given no reason or solution to this leaving them confused and wondering what to do next. While the two companies have come up with no solution yet officially, those wanting to buy audiobook can do so through web or desktop version of the Spotify app.
Spotify has also blamed Apple for repeatedly rejecting and delaying necessary upgrades to the Spotify app. The music streaming company, in one of its blog posts, has said that Apple has done so at “business-critical moments” like the launch of Audiobooks. It accuses Apple for creating none of such roadblocks for its own services.
For the unversed, Apple and Spotify are at loggerheads over a rule by Apple that mandates any third-party app to pay a cut to Apple for anything that is sold through its platform. Spotify last month launched audiobook and Apple wants a 30 per cent cut for every audiobook that is sold. Apple allowed Spotify to use external links to direct users to sign up for a premium subscription but it wasn’t available for audiobooks purchase.
