Hello Spotify Team,
I am currently developing a mobile app that integrates the Spotify SDK. The Android app is now in closed tests and it works like a charm.
Before any public release, I would like to ensure that my application is fully compliant with the Spotify Developer Policy.
Here’s a clear description of how my app works:
The app allows players to listen to music tracks via the Spotify SDK (Premium account required).
After listening to a track, players are asked to place it on a personal timeline according to the year of release of the track.
Validation of the correct year is done only against an internal CSV database that I manually curated.
I do not fetch, use, or rely on Spotify’s release_date metadata, as it is often inaccurate due to remasters, compilations, and reissues or "Karaoke version" 🙂 . So the Spotify release_date metadata is not reliable at all because it kills the game.
The app only controls playback (play, pause, skip) via the Spotify SDK, and does not modify, remix, mix, or analyze the Spotify content in any way.
All information used for gameplay (title, artist, original release year) comes from my own searches and from a database builded and consolidated with other sources like Wikipedia, MusicBrainz, Discogs and ... Google. (Spotify API is pretty cool to use but there is too much versions for one track and we cannot rely only on the Spotify API for our game)
My app behavior is similar to existing music trivia games, where the Spotify service is used for playback, while all game mechanics happen independently.
Given the Spotify Developer Policy mentions restrictions on "games or trivia quizzes," I would like to clarify if my project, based on an internal, manually curated dataset and independent of Spotify metadata,
would be considered compliant.
Please note:
No remixing or alteration of Spotify tracks.
No automated data fetching or scoring based on Spotify metadata.
No direct game interaction with Spotify outside of basic playback control.
No use of Spotify content for creating derivative data sets to sell or to train an IA.
I am committed to respecting both user experience and Spotify’s platform policies.
Could you please review this project description and let me know if my app would be authorized under the Developer Terms?
Others apps look to be authorized but maybe they have a written approval ? How can I get that ?
I don't expect to reach millions of downloads, but I prefer to be fully transparent from the start. It's better to be clear now, in case my app becomes unexpectedly successful 😛
Thank you very much for your support and time.
Best regards,
