Spotify Drops Audiobooks On iOS Just A Month After Launch

Spotify, however, is not bowing to Apple without taking a jab. On the audiobook page for a title, the Spotify app now says “you can’t buy audiobooks in the app. We know, it’s not ideal.” According to a report in The New York Times, Apple initially allowed Spotify to put a button in the app that would allow users to request an email with the purchase link. However, the company later made an about-face, telling Spotify that it can send emails to customers for buying a book, but it can’t integrate a button in the app that would allow an email request with a single tap. On the other hand, Google has allowed Spotify to offer a button in the music streaming app for requesting purchase emails.

At the heart of the skirmish are the App Store rules, which dictate that all in-app purchases must be made using Apple’s own billing system. In doing so, Apple is guaranteed a 30% cut of all transactions, a rule that Spotify has opposed for years. Apple is strictly against alternative payment systems for apps listed on the App Store, and even prohibits developers from offering or advertising any such method in their apps. Interestingly, Apple allows Spotify to let users buy the Premium subscription via a web link, but thinks allowing the same for audiobooks contradicts the rules. Notably, Apple sells audiobooks via its Apple Books app, which is exempt from any such rules.