Inappropriate ads

[Donzella]

After the condom ad fiasco I would think Spotify would scrutinize their ads a little better. The current ad for lingerie and sex stuff is not what I want playing at work or with the kids around. There the kids were, listening to THE BIBLE of all things and this ad for valentines day sex stuff comes on. Our consideration for a premium account died right there. I can't and won't pay for an account without assurance that a better ad policy is in place. 

[Liam · Accepted solution]

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@Donzella wrote:

After the condom ad fiasco I would think Spotify would scrutinize their ads a little better. The current ad for lingerie and sex stuff is not what I want playing at work or with the kids around. There the kids were, listening to THE BIBLE of all things and this ad for valentines day sex stuff comes on. Our consideration for a premium account died right there. I can't and won't pay for an account without assurance that a better ad policy is in place. 

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You are hearing these adverts because you are old enough to listen to them. If you set your age to make you a minor, you wouldn't be hearing them.

You also don't need to worry about ad policies with premium, as there are no adverts with premium.

[Peter__]

Or unlimited 😉 

Peter

[user-removed]

How do you "set your age?" My spotify is linked with my Facebook account and I don't plan on changing my age on Facebook. I didn't see an option for age in preferences...

My opinion: regardless of whether you're "old enough" there should be an option to not play these ads. 😕

[Spoti1]

I used my facebook to make this account. I'm not changing my facebook ad to 5 so that I don't have to listen to these unreasonably inappropriate ads! I'm too poor to buy premium. All my money's going to college! Please make an option for us to select an age or level of innocence or something so that I am willing to continue using spotify. Otherwise... I"m leaving and going back to Pandora!

[Peter__]

Be sure to add your kudos to this ideas topic about advert filtering too!

Peter

[sgtskins]

This is not true.  I am trying to discover why I am listening to adverts as a premium user myself right this very minute. 

[xnyer]

I am the parent of a seventh grader.  She is the one who helped me install Spotify in the first place.  It seems that every time your program is running on my computer there is an ad, or numerous ads, promoting sensation-enhancing condoms and sex toys.  This is highly inappropriate for the ears of children.  Can't you sell our souls to some sponsor who is not peddling so personal a product line in so graphic a manner?  

[Taylor]

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@xnyer wrote:

I am the parent of a seventh grader.  She is the one who helped me install Spotify in the first place.  It seems that every time your program is running on my computer there is an ad, or numerous ads, promoting sensation-enhancing condoms and sex toys.  This is highly inappropriate for the ears of children.  Can't you sell our souls to some sponsor who is not peddling so personal a product line in so graphic a manner?  

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Hi,

As Peter stated, the best thing to do would be to leave Kudos/Comments on the advert filtering idea, that way it will hopefully accelerate the time it takes Spotify to update with that feature!

Anthony 🙂

[Taylor]

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@sgtskins wrote:

This is not true.  I am trying to discover why I am listening to adverts as a premium user myself right this very minute. 

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Hi,

Please note it can take some time for your account to be registered as premium.

To check if your premium account is registered, online, go to account setttings>manage your subscriptions. It will display if you have premium there.

Does Spotify say 'Spotify Premium' at the top centre?

Try re-logging in, or a clean reintall of Spotify.

If it doesn't work within an hour, feel free to contact the support team, by submitting a support ticket on the contact form.

Anthony 🙂

[amaranth2032]

I am so glad Im not the only one who has issues with the content of the ads. It hasnt been bad recently but I dont understand that they cant get better sponsors. I will choose Spotify over Pandora any day of the week for the fact alone that I can pick what I want. Have turned many friends onto Spotify as well. With it gaining popularity I would think the marketing agents would go after corporations who have better values and morals then the sex industry. Cause Im sorry but I dont want to be listening to Christian music and have a condom ad come on. And yes I understand i can upgrade and eliminate the ads. I actually did for a month. Then I stopped and decided that money was needed elsewhere. Spotify...you guys can do better.....

[cullenian]

Wouldn't it be simple to take a short poll about products and services a user actually uses, and then tailor the ads to the needs of the user?

[xnyer]

If the objective of advertising is to persuade the holder of the money that whatever is being hawked is what you need, not what you already use,  taking a poll is counterproductive for the ad company and the sponsor.  The goal is to get me, you, and all of us to get out there and buy those new condoms that will slow him down and speed her up, or give everyone longer, better, more intense orgasms.  Never mind what our current experience with another product or no condom at all may be.  Or the fast food ads on Spotify: whether or not we love McCardboard already, the ad is designed to make us feel an irresistible need to go out and pig out on those Whizbangburgers.  So, nice try for demoncracy in ads, but not gonna happen.  I still don't think my middle schooler needs to be told that she and her boytoy du jour should not do their homework, but do it with a vibrating rooster ring and a glow-in-the-dark singing solar-powered  hot pink fake-fur-covered safe.  

[MikeCaron]

Why not? Hulu lets users pick between several ads at times. I have been presented with the choice between three different ads at the start of a show and then Hulu plays that ad in the ad spaces. I would think Spotify could do the same thing. 

They're also smart enough to figure out WHAT type of music you're listening to and tailor ads to the profile of the typical fan of that kind of music... i.e. you're listening to Barney, you're not going to be presented with ads about condoms, rather Mattel toys and Tonka trucks.

[xnyer]

Not being a hulu customer, I wouldn't know.  My playlists do include some cuts for children, as well as movie music, classical, jazz, folkrock, classic rock, bluegrass, and lots more.  Would the Spotify software be clever enough to figure out that someone whose list includes a lot of, say, Laura Nyro and Beach Boys might not be as interested in hookups as a milennial who still lives in his parents' basement? Evidently not. 

[MikeCaron]

Possibly, it's not such a far fetched idea. Given that a user is connected to Facebook (not sure how many are, but let's just take that case for observation), then Facebook Graph could provide a keen eye into a person from Spotify's perspective. That information coupled with the trend of songs you've been listening to could give a more accurate heuristic of what to advertise to you.

If you're listening to a TON of kids music and have a few, say Tu Pac tunes thrown in for good measure, Spotify should be smart enough to figure out that the listener is more likely a kid rather than a grownup who enjoys kids music. 

A heuristic is never perfect, but I think with the smarty-pantses over at Spotify, they could get a pretty darn good one.

[xnyer]

No Tupac, not a lot of kiddie tunes.  I wonder whether it's how smart Spotify is or whether or not it cares enough about what it targets to whom, or what groups in its audience.  There is software that's smart enough to decide what ads to send me, or you, or my kid.  Spotify seems not to subscribe to any of these services.  I'm still not buying sensation-enhancing condoms, thanks.  

[user-removed]

I have too seen and heard many inappropriate ads, mainly sexual but also violent and bloody commercials for games, artists etc.

For example:

"Hope drowns in the rising tides" a bloody zombie ad

A sound of a chainsaw going of = a commercial for a famous brutal horror movie

Today, something about "F*ck" covered the entire spotify screen when I clicked on the icon after writing a document

So I will uninstall Spotify until all inappropriate ads are gone from Spotify. I'ts okay if you have ads about flight-companies, soda, electronics and what not, but not about violence and sex.

I just want to listen to music

If there were no ads of this type in Spotify I would consider getting "Unlimited"

Please write in this thread if all the ads are removed, until then, bye bye.

[Joe]

You won't get any ads with unlimited or premium so that might be a solution for you.

[user-removed]

No that is not a solution since I don't want to support companies that work in this way, by spamming inappropriate ads to make people get the "Premium" version.