Adverts on Premium version

[garryjones]

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

Device

(iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy 9, Macbook Pro late 2016)

Operating System

(iOS 10, Android Oreo, Windows 10,etc.)

My Question or Issue

I want to remove adverts on Spotify. I have the Premium version and adverts have just started to play

[Billy-J]

Hey @garryjones, thanks for reaching out to the Community!

Sorry to hear that! I'm here to help.

Can you let me know when you're seeing these ads? Is it when you're listening to music in general, or when listening to podcasts? 

Keep me posted. 

[garryjones]

Hi

Now I think of it this happens on Podcasts. Not on music. I listened to my first ever podcast a few months ago. At 60 years old I have just ignored podcasts as I didn't understand the concept and I use Spotify to listen to music but a friend recommended a podcast so I am listening to a series occasionally.

I pay for Premium so I don't have to hear adverts.

I guess (some?) Podcast contributors are sneaking adverts into their Podcasts. Do Spotify allow this? Shouldn't Podcast contributors make their money like everyone else on content being listened to? Is there an option to "hide all podcasts with adverts"? (If not I hope Spotify will take note).

Is this a common occurrence or have I just been unlucky with my chosen podcasts?

I feel a little tricked as I pay for a service with no adverts.

Thanks for answering.

[Billy-J]

Hey @garryjones,

Thanks for the reply and for the info! 

Spotify doesn’t play ads that interrupt the music listening experience, however, some podcasts may include advertising, host-read endorsements, or sponsorship messages. There’s more info about this here.

I hope this helps. I'll be here if you need a hand with anything else!

[garryjones]

I am shocked. You mean they are allowing adverts on an ad free service that we pay for? How can they do that?

I would gladly pay even more if that is what is required to avoid hearing the adverts.

Can we start a movement to boycott all companies advertising on an ad free service? I will make sure I never buy anything from any company advertising on Spotify.

At the very least there should be a filter button to remove Podcasts that contain adverts.

[Billy-J]

Hey @garryjones, 

Thanks for the reply! I wanted to add some more info. Keep in mind that 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. 

I do understand your concern about this, and I have passed your feedback on to the right folks. There is some more info about this here as well as why this happens, and if this is something you'd like to see change, you can always create a new Idea here, and I again thank you for sharing your feedback about this.

I'll be here if you need anything else!