Spotify won't play certain podcasts

[jerviper]

Plan

Premium

Country

USA

Device

Google Pixel 4

Operating System

Android 11

My Question or Issue

Hi there, just this past Monday (March 15, 2021) Spotify suddenly won't play podcast episodes from two specific podcasts I listen to ("Stuff You Should Know" and "Pod Save America"), while other podcasts I listen to, like "ShortWave," play just normally, and music also plays normally.
When I select an episode from those two that aren't working, the play button changes to the pause button, but the progress bar doesn't move and no sounds are heard.
So far, I've tried restarting my phone, uninstalling then reinstalling Spotify app, and trying to play the non-working episodes on wifi/mobile data and nothing has worked.

I would just like to reiterate that other podcasts, as well as music, work just fine; for some reason it's just these two podcasts in particular that aren't working. Any help beyond what I've tried would be greatly appreciated. 
Another thing I just realized, it seems like this issue pertains to ANY podcast under the "iHeartRadio" or the "Crooked Media" names.

[Kiril]

Hey there @Teph12,

Thanks for keeping us in the loop here.

We're happy to read that you've found a solution for this issue. While Spotify doesn’t play ads that interrupt the music listening experience of Premium subscribers, some podcasts may include advertising, host-read endorsements, or sponsorship messages. They remain one of the main ways for podcast creators to sustain themselves and continue doing what they do. It remains up to you if you'd like to allow for this and thus show support for your favorite shows.

If you need a hand with anything else, the Community is here for you.

[quinoaninja]

Hello, I have the same issue here. Started yesterday I can't play BBC Global New Podcast with my account. Not on my phone and not on my Mac laptop. Just this specific podcast I listen to almost everyday won't play😅 Other podcasts and music work perfectly fine.

I'm using iPhone SE2 and it's updated to iOS 15.2.1. Spotify is also updated to the newest version because I was trying the clean reinstall.

I've tried everything mentioned in this thread:

-Clean reinstall (clear cache from Spotify and iPhone setting, offload Spotify, delete the app, turn off my phone, and download it back)

-Log in and log out

-Connect to different Network

It still doesn't work 😕

This is the URL of the podcast, can you help me check?

https://open.spotify.com/show/3wBfqov60qDZbEVjPHo0a8?si=ce75c045067b4a2c

Thanks!

[Jeremy]

Hi there @quinoaninja,

Thank you for your reply in this thread.

Can you let us know which country your in and if it's matching the country setting you have on your account? You can check that here.

Once we have the information above we'll be able to check this from our end.

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

Take care!

[SpeciousMoney77]

Even though I tried every method on this thread it still isn’t letting me play a curtain podcast. Every time I attempt to play it, it closes the pod cast out. I’m using an IPhone SE, please give me recommendations on how to fix this.

[Jeremy]

Hi there @SpeciousMoney77,

Thank you for your reply in this thread and for the troubleshooting you've done so far.

Can you give us more details of what's happening when you're trying to play the podcast?

Also, does it occur on one specific device or multiple devices?

It would also be great if you can send us the URI of the podcast and let us know which country your account's set to so that we can have a closer look from our end.

Keep us posted 🙂

Take care!

[Jawaki]

Thank you! I was experiencing the same problem and I just turned off my VPN and it solved the problem.

[Jawaki]

Try disabling any adblocker or vpn. That worked for me.

[Jeremy]

Hi @Jawaki,

Thank you for your reply in this thread.

It's really nice of you to share what worked for you with the rest of the Community.

Let us know if anything else comes up 🙂

Take care!

[Gu58us]

Having the same issue for a particular episode of a podcast. Issue is on my surface pro 8 and samsung 10E.
Tried all steps above. Still not playing. 

[MafeG]

Hi @Gu58us,

Thank you for reaching out!

Could you share with us the URL of this episode, so we can take a look and assist you with it? 

Keep us posted.

[One11]

I had the same issue and like others have found, it was being caused by an ad blocker (Blokada in my case).

More specifically, the traffic that needed to be whitelisted in the ad blocking app was traffic.megaphone.fm. The podcast that wasn't playing for me proceeded to work as expected after doing that. 

[tipsygirl6]

Hi,

I am having this issue with the Headgum Podcast since May 6th, 2022. Other podcasts play fine. The Headgum podcast also works fine on my laptop and other devices through the same account, just not on my phone.

Iphone 13 , iOS 15.4.1

Spotify app version 8.7.30.1342

I have tried all methods of restarting/reinstalling app, does not work.

My country is set to Canada, which is correct.

Unlike some of the solutions in this thread, I do not use any adblocker or VPN (to my knowledge ?)

Any insight would be helpful.

[taylorxbeau]

This is crazy! I’m having the same exact issue with the same exact podcast. I’m using an iPhone 11 and have performed all of the recommended steps in this thread: clean reinstall, check if any VPN or adblocker is interfering, etc. They all haven’t fixed it. I can’t play any episode of the podcast, nor can I download it. I’m running the latest iOS (15.4.1) & the latest Spotify version (8.7.30). I hope someone can fix this because it’s been going on for days and nothing has worked.

[Eni]

Hey folks, 

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community. 

Would you mind sending us the URI of the podcast you mentioned so we can take a closer look?

We'll be on the lookout.

[MACND89]

im on pc and Banter with Sapnap and Karl Jacobs isnt working

[TurtleBear]

I am also experiencing this issue. I have the newest app version of Spotify and my Pixel 6 Pro is also up to date. I have tried all the steps. Clean uninstall etc etc. I do not have any ad blocking services. I can play previously listened to episodes but I cannot play any unlistensd to episodes. It sounds like the issue is between Spotify and Pixel phones. No idea what it could be. Please let me know if there is a fix.

[Okaygetonwithit]

Yep, I'm the same.

[Eni]

Hey folks, 

Thanks for getting in touch about this. 

We've received some reports from users that this has been fixed. In this case, would you mind trying to perform a clean reinstall of the app on your devices once again to check if that makes the difference? 

Let us know how it goes.

[arnoutvanee]

I am also experiencing this issue since about 1 month. I have the newest app version of Spotify (just updated again). I had an iPhone XR until 2 weeks ago with this problem. Now I have a new iPhone 11 and it has the same problem. I have tried all the steps. Clean install on a new phone, so new iOS and new Spotify app. I do not have any ad blocking services that I know of. It is a company phone though. So maybe there is an issue there with certain software (we have Wandera mandatory installed)? It sounds like the issue is between Spotify and my phones, because I can indeed still listen to all podcasts in my (Premium) account on my laptop. About half of the podcasts I used to listen still work just fine though.  One example of a podcast that doesn’t start playing anymore is Huberman Lab Episode 77 - Ido Portal: The science & practice of movement. Please help because this is really hampering my user experience of Spotify!!

[julox]

Hello

I am having the very same problem with some specific podcast in pixel4a. I tried everything mentioned here,clean reinstall,restart,i dont have any adblocker,but nithing helped.Can you please advice why this is happening?its quite annoying.