Hey @ianmarshall
Podcast creators have an option to choose whether they'd like to have a slot for dynamic ads in their podcasts. Joe Rogan has opted in for it as has many others, and Spotify doesn't have much control over that - it's up to the individual podcast hosts on whether they go for ads in their podcasts or not.
It's a bit like featured ads in Youtube, where the creator such as digital artist briefly talks about some cloud service or a vinyl nerd introduces some vinyl cleaning product. They are ads relevant to content.
Here's an article going a bit deeper into that, if you'd like to learn more.
There was an Idea covering the same issue which was closed and the statement reads:
As part of the Premium subscription, all music can be enjoyed ad-free. And 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 independently of the streaming platforms featuring such podcasts.
Hope this helps you 🙂
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Staff / Moderator/ 1 year ago in Social & Random