Extension request help

[baldwinguitars]

I just received a denial for my extension request after waiting a month. I did some research and apparently resubmitting means I have to wait another month or longer.

Since this is a guess and check process I need some help before this turns into a 6 month ordeal. 

My app is a rewards engine for music fans. They earn loyalty points for an artist by streaming music, checking in at concerts, buying merch, sharing the artist, signing up for the email list, and I'm sure we'll add more if we can ever get to market. Artists can then offer loyalty rewards to the fans based on where they stack up against other fans (ex. 10% off t-shirts for the top 10% of fans)

Of the list of activities one can do to earn points, streaming is among the least valuable and we really have it in there as a way to engage with new users who haven't interacted with the system much yet. When streaming a song earns you 1 point for the artist and attending a concerts earns you 750-10,000 points, streaming points become less valuable to the fan over time and if they wanted to manipulate the system, they'd do it using the higher value activities. 

So the reason I got denied was 

• The Spotify Platform can not be used to artificially increase play counts, follow counts or to otherwise manipulate the Spotify Service. For example, by using any bot, script, automated process, or by providing any form of compensation (financial or otherwise) to users

I don't like it but I can understand it. Abuses of a loyalty program would manipulate the Spotify service. I'd love it if the documentation were black and white on the subject and I could make a formal appeal based on the published requirements, but this is much more subjective and ambiguous than Spotify would like it to be. So, I need to be able to review this with a person in real time other than waiting a month every time it's time to "guess and check" again. 

Here are the current questions I need to have answered. 

1. If we do away with points for streaming and only pull a list of artists to display as "my artists" to new users, will that be in line with the requirements. 

2. If we implemented some sort of limit to points earned by streaming, would that meet the requirements? Say, max 100 points for an artist, or max 40 points a day? 

[Ximzend · Accepted solution]

Hi there @baldwinguitars 

Thanks for posting in the Spotify Community, and welcome!

I understand how frustrating this process can be, especially when the rules seem unclear.  

Based on Spotify's Developer Policy and Terms, rewarding users for streaming violates their guidelines. Specifically, the platform cannot be used to "artificially increase play counts" or provide "any form of compensation (financial or otherwise)" for streams. This means that even capping points for streaming wouldn’t comply. However, removing streaming rewards entirely and using the data solely for displaying "my artists" should align with the rules.  

For more details, you can review: Spotify Developer Policy and Terms.

I hope this clarified things. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.

Cheers!

I hope this helps clarify things! Let me know if you have more questions.  

[baldwinguitars]

Thank you for responding quickly! I have already made the updates and resubmitted. If there's anything we can do to get a quicker turnaround time on the review that'd be greatly appreciated. I'd hate to have to wait another 4-6 weeks for something that was such a small fix on our end. 

[baldwinguitars]

After waiting another month, they sent the EXACT same email they sent the first time. Are you aware of any resources where I can actually talk to a spotify rep about this? It feels like a black hole. Very frustrating.