Ads in podcasts (not read by podcaster) despite premium account.

[bjarkih77]

I've had a premium subscription for years now.  But when listening to podcasts I get ads injected, by Spotify, why is this?  (I know they come from spotify because if my VPN is set to my home country there are no ads, while e.g if set to Norway I get Norwegian ads)

[Lyubka]

Hey @bjarkih77,

Welcome to the Community and thank you for this post!
 

Spotify doesn't play advertisements for our Premium users but some podcasts may include ads in their content. Generally, it's up to the podcast creators if they would like to have third-party advertising, host-read endorsements or sponsorship messages in their episodes. We provide this option to podcast creators as an extra way to help them monetize and live off of their content. 

Seems like there are other Community folks that also don't like ads and have already created an Idea about removing ads from Podcasts. If you'd like to see this implemented, go ahead and check this idea here. Make sure you leave a +Vote to support it, so that it would have a better chance of being considered, as Spotify always strives to improve your experience.

You'll also find all the relevant info about our Idea Exchange and how the Community feedback gets implemented here, if you'd like to know more about the topic.

Hope this clear things up,

Cheers! 

[bjarkih77]

So why were ads in Norwegian inserted into a British podcast?

[Eni]

Hey there @bjarkih77, 

Thanks for getting back to us.

Currently there is no way to select a language for the ads you're getting. Ads are automatically generated based on the country/ region you are currently in. However, this can vary if you're using a VPN. 

On another note, we don't recommend using a VPN since it can affect the app performance. 

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

[bjarkih77]

"Currently there is no way to select a language for the ads you're getting. Ads are automatically generated based on the country/ region you are currently in. However, this can vary if you're using a VPN. "
But my complaint is based on the fact that I have a premium subscription so I shouldn't be getting any ads. 

[Eni · Accepted solution]

Hey @bjarkih77, 

Thanks for your reply. 

As @Lyubka mentioned previously, Spotify doesn’t play ads that interrupt the music listening experience of Premium subscribers, but some podcasts may include advertising, host-read endorsements, or sponsorship messages.

Spotify gives the podcast hosts the option to choose if they would like to have a dynamic ad slot in their podcast, but that isn't something Spotify can control - it's up to the individual podcast owners if they choose to have that type of ad in their content.

We suggest that you take a look at this and this article for more info.

We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us and will make sure to pass it onto the right team, as we always strive to improve your experience.

If you need help with anything else, just let us know. 

[bjarkih77]

As I've stated before this is not a host-read ad since it's in another language and read by other people. 
Regarding the 'dynamic ad slot' why is that pushed on premium subscribers on Spotify?  I though I was paying for an ad-free experience.

[l4ztsj6rvnfzv69xlpmx]

United emirates commercials i  hebrew, sound. Popping in the middle of podcasts. Definitely a commercial, one I shouldn't be getting with a paid account

[LuisFurtado]

The essence of Premium is an ad-free experience. Introducing ads contradicts this principle and devalues your service. I am considering canceling my subscription if this continues. This issue is about respecting consumer principles.

[Beeftaco]

i remember somewhere spotify said that "podcasts have ads most of the time" and people somehow "expect" ads to be apart of the listening experience witch is just a cover for them wanting to make extra cash

[evalenablom1]

I have the same problem. I pay for Premium and I get Swedish commercial **bleep** when I'm listening to American podcasts. I live in Sweden and I am Swedish but I don't want to hear long and boring Swedish commercial ads when I'm listening to interesting news from the US. When I first started listening to podcasts it took 4 months before the commercials started. When I contacted the Support people they said that it must be the producer of the podcast that made the decision to have commercials in it. But I said; why would they force me to listen to Swedish commercials? They had no answer for that question. I have actually stopped listening to the podcasts just because of this.

[New user]

I live in ireland I listen to uk podcasts but get US ads. How do I stop this and return to localised ads

[SouthernSmith]

I'll admit that I am a new premium user but this is honestly getting annoying to deal with. I have had spotify for podcasts specifically and usually listened free with ads for a little bit. Then it started to get way more annoying when the ads would attempt to load and then crash the app while I was driving without service, despite the fact the podcast was playing just fine up until the point. I then decided to purchase and individual premium account but I am seriously considering cancelling and just moving to a different service when I continue to get dynamic ad slots in my podcasts. I paid for no ads and that means NO ADS, I have no issues with the creators having sponsored segments, I don't have an issue with creators earing extra money from ad reads in thier submitted MP3 file but I would appreciate if you all quit injecting full minute long dynamic ads that either crash the app while driving or ruin our expirience we paid for! 

[mawi5]

This IS indeed in Spotify's control, just don't give the podcasts hosts the option to choose ad slots in their podcasts and voila! I don't have ads in my Premium account and you honor what you offer to users

I don't see any information in your Paid Subscriptions Terms that states you DO show ads for Premium accounts in podcast:
https://www.spotify.com/us/premium/ nor in https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/paid-subscription-terms/

[muddybike]

I am a premium subscriber, but before a podcast starts to play, a spotify ad spot (not part of the podcast) plays. Why?