[eadz]

I made a Spotify powered app ( https://mergemusic.app ) and we didn't add any payment methods to comply with their terms.

Tried for months / years to get in touch with someone at Spotify who could discuss a commercial licence agreement, so the app could have a business model. Stonewalled.

Turns out Spotify instead of working with us, made their own version - Spotify Blend, launched 2 years after our app.

The thing that bugs me the most is Spotify is a member of https://appfairness.org which states

> App store gatekeepers have carefully crafted their mobile device ecosystems to eliminate competition and maximize their own control and profits, to the detriment of developers and consumers.

However Spotify's own App Store did exactly the behaviour they are complaining about.

[ckosidows]

I suspect it might be complicated by the fact that most of their content isn't owned by them but leased(?) from record labels, artists, podcasters, etc?

But I agree it seems like they use this API as a free launch pad for ideas, which seems morally or ethically questionable. Sorry to hear they might have ripped your idea.

[eadz]

We weren't taking content. Just creating playlists back on Spotify through their API.