Need help - quota extension request keeps getting rejected

[Playlistdrive]

Hi,

My quota extension request has now been rejected twice and I seem to be unable to convince the development team that I am complying with the Spotify terms and conditions.

My quota extension request got rejected because of

1. Artificial manipulation. Don’t artificially increase, or claim to artificially increase, play counts, follow counts or otherwise manipulate the Spotify Service. For example by providing any form of compensation (financial or otherwise) to users. You may not set up a system for playlist placement where monetisation is involved. 

My app is a platform that connects music publishers with playlist curators. Music publishers can start promotion campaigns and submit their music to playlist curators. Every submission costs 20 credits and credits are partly rewarded to curators. We're basically selling promotions. Curators are only being paid to write feedback and NOT to add music to their playlist(s).

My app is doing the exact same thing as playlistpush.com, submithub.com, soundcamps.com and other companies that have ALL received a quota extension.

I have spent a lot of time building my application and I carefully researched the market and read through the terms and conditions before I started building. Now it feels so unfair that I am being treated differently than other companies that were approved and are doing the exact same thing as Tunebump. 

Can someone please help me since my questions are not being answered via e-mail?

Thank you in advance.

Kind regards,

Niels

[Ximzend]

You are saying "Every submission costs 20 credits and credits are partly rewarded to curators.", and you can read in the rejection: "You may not set up a system for playlist placement where monetisation is involved.".

Monetisation of any form for adding tracks into a playlist is not allowed.

If other apps are doing the same thing, they are going against the Developer Policy.

[Playlistdrive]

Hello Ximzend,

Thank you for your reply.

The thing is that we do not reward curators to add tracks to their playlist.

Curators are being rewarded to write feedback for music publishers on Tunebump, regardless of what their opinion of a song is. There is no financial incentive to add a track to a playlist and we also aren't stimulating/forcing this. Whether a song gets added to a playlist is entirely up to a curator and there is no financial incentive whatsoever. 

Could you please give me your opinion on this?

Thank you!!

[Ximzend]

Hello Niels,

Thank you for providing additional information about your app. Based on what you've shared, it seems that your app is not directly monetizing playlist placement. Instead, you are providing a platform for music publishers to promote their music and connect with playlist curators, and curators are being rewarded for providing feedback on songs.

Given the specific circumstances of your app, it may be worth clarifying this point with the Spotify development team in your correspondence with them. You could highlight that your app is not incentivizing or compensating curators to add tracks to their playlists and that it is up to the curators' discretion whether or not they choose to include a track in their playlist. 

It's also possible that there are other factors at play in the decision to reject your quota extension request, so it may be helpful to continue to communicate with the Spotify development team and ask for more specific feedback on what changes or adjustments you could make to meet their requirements.

I hope this helps!

[Playlistdrive]

Thank you for providing me with your feedback, it is very much appreciated. 

In my most recent quota extension request I already made an attempt to clarify this point. Unfortunately, it seems I was not able to sufficiently explain it to them.

Do you know if there are other ways to reach out to the development team other than submitting a quota extension request? I would like to receive more specific feedback to see what I can do to clarify the app's use case or to modify it so it meets the requirements. 

Thanks again.