Important: App review and quota extension waiting times

[Nikola]

The Spotify for developers platform helps many bring their ideas to life. Whether it's a short term app helping an artist’s release or something more long term - there is always a chance of success. Things start to grow and then you might also need what we call a quota extension.

When you request a quota extension or you're simply waiting for your app to be reviewed, there is a follow up process that sets certain limits with the sole purpose of making things fair, better functioning and with an optimal level of user-experience quality.

During this process a few questions may arise. Such as:

• How long does it take to review my submission? 

During peak periods, it may take longer than six weeks. 

• Why does it take that long?

The review and extension request process is an iterative process. It is a matter of the developer and the Spotify team finding exactly where things need to be in order for the application to find its audience.

• What can I do as a developer to speed up the process? 

Make sure everything in your request is clear and correct, that you’re providing enough and correct information, adhering to Spotify’s developer terms, policies and design guidelines. If your request is rejected and needs to be resubmitted, an SLA of another 6 weeks will be applied after resubmission. Therefore the more attention and efforts you put into submitting a fully correct request from the beginning - the better are the chances that you will not have to resubmit and save precious time.

• An example of adhering to terms and conditions is our updated terms on using Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models (AI/LLM) when consuming the Spotify API. Since this is a new and emerging field, we felt it was important to update the Terms of Service to clarify that using Spotify data or information to train models is outside the scope of what the platform is built for.

• Does it help for me to reach out to other teams about this issue? 

It will not help a developer to try to reach out to other Spotify teams to get their request expedited or a question answered. We are the dedicated point of contact who can approve your request and involving other teams may actually interfere with the process. It's best to follow the instructions outlined above and you will receive an answer as soon as possible.

• What do I do if my submission gets rejected?

Don’t despair just yet. You will receive an email with applied rejection reasons, and further instructions on how (if) to proceed. Please make sure to read the email thoroughly to understand the reasons for rejection, and possible next steps. If a change can be made to be compliant, simply make the change and resubmit your request. As mentioned above - another review timeline of 6 weeks will be applied upon resubmission. You can navigate in the best way using the email and other applicable resources such as the Dev Terms, Dev Policy or Design Guidelines. 

Please keep in mind that if you’re waiting for an answer to an email you’ve sent us - our Developer email will not be monitored for an extended period during this summer. But it’s highly probable that your question will be answered by the topics covered above. You can also refer to the Spotify for developers general questions: 

- WebAPI Documentation

- App Modes

- Developer Terms

- Developer Policy

- Design Guidelines

- App Reviews Instructions

- Community Forum for specific questions

Thank you for your understanding and patience. Take care!

[SpecterBikes]

We created a Spotify integration for an E-bike. When we applied for a Quota extension it got rejected and we received news that for hardware we needed to fill in a Google sheet instead. We did this on July 17th and since then the application is stuck on 'draft'. Are we missing anything? Thanks. 

[firedanceapp]

Join the club.  Our app has been "in review" since July 8th, about 4 months now.

Anyone from Spotify want to give us a hand here?  4 month wait for a quick review is a bit absurd.

[CheeroIp]

Well, Spotify have their own problem with being approved too 🙂

Apple Rejected Spotify's App Update Adding Audiobook Support - MacRumors

They could just give the audiobook an API endpoint and let independent Developers take the heat off their head.

[kuendig]

First request got rejected after 2 weeks. Now I've been waiting for more than 2 months. They even have a standardized banner for such a long wait therefore it seems normal for them. Somehow very negative considering how much time one invests in an app for basic functionality before one can even request an extension. I'm really disappointed at this point

[vatti1201]

Same here. Have no idea how long should I keep waiting now :」

[fdsapp]

It has been over 13 weeks for my case and I still check every single day to see if there is an update as it is delaying our website release. I was wondering if Spotify can at least grant a temporary extension to developers while the extension request is still under review, so that we can at least start onboarding additional users to our platform and start end to end user acceptance tests with some beta customers. The temporary extension could provide us a way to allow our users, maybe up to 100 or 200, to start using our application. Thoughts on this, @Spotify?

[naosk8]

It's been 2 months since submission.
It says "Need to consult with other departments", but it keeps showing as Unreviewed.

Probably all the developers here are people who love Spotify's service and are trying to use it to spread the word about its benefits. I think it can be said to be an alternative marketing device that runs on its own from Spotify's point of view.

I don't really understand why they have such a strong approval process in the first place, but the review process of Facebook/Instagram, which started working with them around the same time, was much more transparent and smooth. I'm sorry.
I would like you to reevaluate whether it is really okay to continue with the current review system, involving not only the relevant departments but also management. Thank you for your wise judgment.

[fdsapp]

After posting here a couple days ago, it now says our request has been rejected, but we haven't received any emails even though it says the following in the documentation:
"The app review team will review the information that you have provided, test out your app and send you feedback by email, to the email address associated with your Spotify account."

We haven't received any feedback. Who can I reach out to receive feedback on why our request was rejected? 

[firedanceapp]

This happened to us when our app was rejected, but one of our developers had signed us up with a different e-mail address than the one associated with our test account.  I guess double-check you're checking the right email?  When our app was rejected they did immediately dispatch an e-mail clearly outlining what we needed to change.

[fdsapp]

Thanks @firedanceapp but we only have a single account and just confirmed that the correct email address is added to it. Unfortunately we haven't received any emails yet. Nothing in the spam folder either. I'm hoping Spotify will reach out to us soon so that we can make the necessary changes to our app.

[MAKESTAR]

I submitted an extension request on September 26 and the status hasn’t changed at all. I don’t know how long it will take.
We already have our first set of customers, so we need an exact timeline to coordinate with them.

[fdsapp]

@Spotify I still haven't received any emails regarding the reason for rejection; it has been 10 days since the status was changed to Rejected. Could you please provide some clarification on what to expect? According to the guidelines, I expect to receive an email:

"The app review team will review the information that you have provided, test out your app and send you feedback by email, to the email address associated with your Spotify account."

Even the instructions above by @Nikola say:

"You will receive an email with applied rejection reasons, and further instructions on how (if) to proceed. Please make sure to read the email thoroughly to understand the reasons for rejection, and possible next steps."

While this is a bit frustrating as a developer, I understand sometimes things fall through the cracks, especially when they are dealing with thousands of requests. Is there a support team I can reach out to? Thanks.

[SoundcheckAdmin]

Hey Nikola! We have been waiting for 6 weeks now and our status hasn’t changed from Unreviewed or Undecided yet. Could you please guide me on the next steps when you get a chance? Thanks!!

[zaronwald123]

This is urgent. I know that everyone is waiting patiently for their extension approval, and I don't mean to put anybody lower. My app Harmoniq Music was released on the app store yesterday and we are growing much faster than anticipated. We anticipate 1000 users in the next day and it has barely been out 24 hours. We hadn't expected the user base to develop so quickly, and as a result, the quota extension not being approved is extremely limiting. Our app is publicly available on the app store here:  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/harmoniq-music/id6468933926 or you can search for Harmoniq Music. Our client id is: b5943bfa06d74fb5886de128665c8db9 Again, I know everybody is waiting patiently, but our app allows new and potential Spotify customers to transfer playlists from their old platforms to their new Spotify accounts, and is growing rapidly. It is greatly advantageous to get this approved ASAP.

[zaronwald123]

Hello. I know that everyone is patiently awaiting a quota extension, but I am posting here in the hopes of expediting the process. Obviously this is what everyone wants, as nobody wants to sit around waiting, but I am in a slight predicament. We released our app, Harmoniq Music, on the app store yesterday, and in just over 24 hours we are nearly at 1000 users. This was definitely not anticipated, and we had originally planned on waiting for the quota extension as we gained a user-base, but the demand has grown exponentially. Our app is beneficial to Spotify as it allows prospective and new customers to transfer playlists to Spotify at the click of a button, while also allowing users to post and share music with other Spotify users. At this rate of growth, the lack of a production quota is extremely limiting, both to us, and Spotify. The link to the app on iOS is: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/harmoniq-music/id6468933926

Our client id for Spotify is: b5943bfa06d74fb5886de128665c8db9

Please, I know that everyone is awaiting an extension, but our app is live, and the demand has been outstanding, an approval is a necessity at this point, and each day we wait, the loss grows greater.

[zaronwald123]

I understand there are lots of applications and that it is a process, but the holiday is coming up. Please I am in dire need of a quota extension, I have a very large user base, with multiple celebrities waiting to promote the application. All of this benefits Spotify with potential clients coming over to Spotify. My app is called Harmoniq Music on the app store, here's the link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/harmoniq-music/id6468933926

the client id for review is: b5943bfa06d74fb5886de128665c8db9

Please review my request

[kuendig]

to be fair, after ca. 2.5 months my request was granted. seems you have just to be patient...

[zaronwald123]

Yea i get that, but you would think that for such a successful brand, they would want to really focus on approving things like this that are win wins for them, and an approval of such shouldn't take 6+ weeks. Especially when an app has a rapidly growing user base with celebrity promotion that will easily help Spotify.

[ivnimprv]

Same.

[DJCopilot]

Hello Developers Team, I just submitted a request for the quota extension request. I deeply need it to be validated before the 15th of December because we have a huge appointment for a global test. Do you think being able to review it before ?

Thank you for your understanding.

Best Regards,

Simon DANIEL - DJ Copilot