4.5.2 — Apple Music

If your app connects to Apple Music via its API, it has to respect the service as-is — no modifying playback behavior, blocking Apple Music's own promotional content, or presenting Apple Music content in a way that implies your app, rather than Apple, owns it.

Occasionally triggered by music-utility apps that layer custom UI over Apple Music playback in a way that obscures or reskins Apple's own attribution.

The short version, in more detail

Guideline 4.5.2 covers apps that connect to Apple Music through its API. The service has to be presented as it is: playback behaviour should not be altered, Apple Music's own promotional content should not be blocked and its content should not be shown in a way that suggests the app owns it. Music utilities that restyle playback heavily sometimes cross this line.

Why this rule exists

Apple provides the Apple Music API so that third-party apps can build on the service, but it still wants the service to look and behave consistently, with proper attribution. Users should know where music comes from, and subscribers should see the same experience, including Apple's own links and promotions, across apps. The rule keeps the integration an extension of the service, not a replacement skin.

What this guideline covers

• Use of the Apple Music API and related components.
• Playback behaviour and controls.
• Attribution and presentation of Apple Music content.
• Promotional content and links from the service.

What usually triggers this rejection

• Overlaying custom UI that hides Apple's attribution.
• Changing how playback works in ways the service does not allow.
• Blocking Apple Music's own promotions.
• Presenting Apple Music content as the app's own.
• Using the service for purposes other than those allowed.

How reviewers evaluate it

• Reviewers inspect how Apple Music content appears and plays.
• They look for missing or obscured attribution.
• They check that required controls and links are present.
• They compare the behaviour with the API documentation.

Common misunderstandings

• Using the API does not give freedom to restyle everything.
• Attribution is not a minor detail. It is part of the requirement.
• The rule applies to content from the service, not to the developer's own music.

Common questions