topic Unwanted shortcuts. in Content Questions

Unwanted shortcuts.

user-removed — Sun, 14 Feb 2021 16:39:38 GMT

Plan

Premium

Country

Netherlands

Device

Pc, smartphone

Operating System

Windows 10, Android 10/MIUI 12

My Question or Issue

Hi! I've been wondering how to get rid of unwanted shortcuts? I have a premium plan and I would not like to see ads, but I keep seeing Drake in there. I never listened to Drake nor will I ever be interested in his music. I can't unfollow him or anything. How do I get rid of ads like this?

Re: Unwanted shortcuts.

Novy — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 16:11:47 GMT

Hey there @user-removed,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community.

Just to confirm, are you seeing an ad or is it just appearing in your shortcuts?

Would you mind sending over a screenshot where we can take a better look at this issue? Just attach the image to your next response to us by using the Insert Photos option in the post editor and make sure to exclude any personal info from it.

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Re: Unwanted shortcuts.

Geodactyl — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 23:38:50 GMT

You can't escape Drake. He's unavoidable.
Or, seriously, keep listening to other stuff and hope that the algorithm makes him go away. But you're working against all but one other person on spotify.

Re: Unwanted shortcuts.

user-removed — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 09:57:28 GMT

Thanks for your reply!

It is a shortcut, but since I have never listened to Drake, nor ever looked him up, it really does strike me as an ad. I can't find any way to remove the shortcut and I really, really REALLY want to get rid of him.

I have attached a screenshot to my post so you can see what I mean.

Re: Unwanted shortcuts.

user-removed — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 07:45:00 GMT

Hi, thanks for your reply! I did post a reply back yesterday or so but it looks like it's been deleted? Let me try again.

It is definitely a shortcut, but I never even looked him up before or listened to his music. I can't remove him which makes it an (intrusive) ad in my eyes. There's no other reason for him to be there other than as an advertisement.

Here's a screenshot of what I mean:

Re: Unwanted shortcuts.

Jeremy — Thu, 18 Feb 2021 10:36:47 GMT

Hey there @user-removed,

Thank you for your reply and screenshot.

We suggest that you head over to this thread for more information about this.

As mentioned in the thread, you can also head over to this idea and leave a +VOTE and Subscribe to the thread for any updates.

We hope this information was helpful. If you have any questions we're always one reply away.

Take care!

Re: Unwanted shortcuts.

user-removed — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 11:26:37 GMT

Thank you for your reply!

I suppose I'm completely out of luck, considering the links you sent. That's a shame, since I thought I was paying for an ad-free experience.

I know suggestions can be suggestions, but forcing in something irrelevant onto me without me being able to dismiss the ad or otherwise say 'not interested' isn't a very good thing, imo.

Re: Unwanted shortcuts.

user-removed — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 09:30:12 GMT

Oh my god who on earth is "Tyga"????

Just got used to drake taking a shortcut spot without paying rent and no chance of eviction. Now this Tyga dude moved in next to him and there's nothing I can do about it?

Please stop this nonsense! Ads on premium, sure, if they're not intrusive and can be dismissed, but that's not the case here.

Please don't force me to search for an alternative to Spotify.

Re: Unwanted shortcuts.

Alex — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 09:48:03 GMT

Hey @user-removed,

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry to hear that you feel this way about the Shortcuts feature. It is part of an ongoing efforts to improve the user experience by providing meaningful, relevant content recommendations to you. We understand that you don't feel the same way about this feature.

For the moment the best way for your feedback to reach the developer team at Spotify is to add your +Vote and comment to the Idea that @Jeremy has linked to. The right teams at Spotify are monitoring both backstage data and user feedback to improve feature the app and make it more customizable and user friendly.

Hope you find this info helpful.

Re: Unwanted shortcuts.

user-removed — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 09:56:49 GMT

Thanks for your answer!

Unfortunately I disagree with the idea of the ads being relevant and meaninfgul. The opposite is true, however. If they were suggestions for relevant artists and music I honestly wouldn't mind. But putting a genre I never listen to and even try to avoid in there just feels mean.

Unfortunately the suggestion Jeremy linked to has already been denied and was already denied when I wanted to upvote it.

Does this mean the ads are here to stay forever? Theres nothing I can do?

Re: Unwanted shortcuts.

Alex — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 10:16:15 GMT

Hey @user-removed,

Thanks for the reply.

We understand your frustration with receiving recommendations for artists and genres outside of your music taste.

Even through the Idea has been marked as Not Right Now it is still gaining visibility and the feedback reaches the developer team. There are plenty of functions and features in the app which have been updated after release based on actual user feedback 🙂

The best thing that can be done is, as I've mentioned above, to add your vote and share how you feel about Shortcuts on the Idea Thread.