Extremely inappropriate ads

[DaysEverlasting]

Hi everybody.

As you can see, I am a realtively new user, this being my first post and what not (besides a test).

I would like to point out that my account says I am under 18 years of age. According to what I have found these forums, at least, according to Spotify, that means that I shouldn't receive any inaproppriate ads. That's good. And so far most of my ads have been clean and happy.

Except for one...

Wait for it...

NAKED BREASTS.

At first I was a little confused as to what it was, then to my horror it dawned on me. Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the artist it is for, but COME ON. This is beyond just stupid, it's criminal! As an underage indivdual, it is ilegal to show me this stuff! 

I thought Spotify was just another corporation, but now I see they are slimy, greedy, and evil people that will stop at nothing to get every penny out of us.

I have sent them a message stating that in two weeks, I will cancel my account unless the ad is removed and I receive an apology. A GROVELING apology. Payment in some form for  damages would nice as well.  

I would describe how I feel about Spotify in more detail, but my account would likely be deleted for offensive language.

Infuriated.

[Peter__]

Hey 🙂 

It is pretty hard to track down these things without a screenshot of the advert or the name of the artist/company it was advertising. I haven't seen any other reports about this particular piece of advertising here on the community (bearing in mind I don't know what the advert even is!). 

Where did you see it, was it a flash ad at the bottom/side of the player, a pop up or album artwork? 

Peter

[DaysEverlasting]

Hi

Sorry, I totally forgot to mention what the ad was. It was an ad for VV Brown Samson, a new album for the artist I think. It was a banner ad, it kept flasing between to images, one just looked like scribbles, the other had the clear form of a naked female chest, or at least, it looked INCREDIBLY similar.

I think it may have been album artwork. 

[Sam]

DaysEverlasting - Was this an actual advert showing nudity, or was it album artwork?

If it's an advert, please let us know which type of ad it was and whether you've seen it again. You shouldn't be receiving any 18+ adverts if you're under 18.

If it's album artwork, we'd like to underline that we do believe in freedom of expression and do not censor material that has been legally licensed to us.

[Joe]

I think we're talking about the cover to Samson here.

[DaysEverlasting]

I believe it was "album artwork". It was a banner ad, no sound. 

And yes I realize that you guys believe in freedom of expression, but that doesn't change the legality of it. If an under age indivdual is shown adult sexual content, the ones responsible for showiong them the content (that would be you, Spotify), are legally liable.

If I recieve any ads like it in the future, I will have no choice but cancel my account, and then report Spotify to the authorities. I would much prefer for Spotify to just add a filter to the app (both free and premium), as other users have suggested. But that is beside the point. The point is that Spotify broke the law, regardless of policy.

[DaysEverlasting]

Correct, it is the cover to Samson.

[Joe]

You're going to report Spotify for showing an album cover showing something INCREDIBLY similar to a naked female chest? Just close your account and go play with your lego set.

[DaysEverlasting]

Acutally Joe, that thought crossed my mind. But I have been in contact with Spotify support, and they have said that they "hope" I will not see this ad again. If I don't see it, good. If I do see it, I will cancel my account and report Spotify.

No offense Joe, but your answer was extremely unhelpful, in-germain, and rather insulting. I find it rather depressing that a comment as such would recieve a kudo. This thread was meant to bring to the attention of the Spotfiy community the fact that Spotify has done something not only implicitly bad, but also very possibly illegal. If you disagree, that's fine, but please keep all negative and unhelpful comments to yourself. Thank you.

[Joe]

Seriously though, if you see naked breasts everywhere you look then you should seek help because I see no anatomical parts in that album cover. I do however agree that Spotify should take into account the age in one's profile and tailor ads accordingly. When you have a moment, maybe you could explain what "in-germain" means? Is it some americanism because it certainly isn't in my Oxford English dictionary. 

Frankly, imagining you have some sort of entitlement simply hammers home what is wrong with today's "me me me" generation and begs comment.

[DaysEverlasting]

The cover for Samson, by VV Brown? Look to the left side of it, can't you see the nude woman's chest? What else could that be? 

Again with the insults, if you feel they are necessary, go ahead and say them, though they are pointless. To quote: "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss. 

In-Germane (I spelled incorrectly, apologies) is a term used in legislative proceedings in reference to something that either does not have to with the topic at hand, or is not moving the discussion forward in a productive manner. At least, that is what I have come to understand. I believe it can be found in Robert's Rules of Order.

And no, I feel absolutely no sense of entitlement. But that is not why I am here, discussing this. I made this thread with intent of bringing to the attention of others within the Spotify community, of yet another of Spotify's flaws (to put it lightly).

On a more friendly note, do you know the name of the thread asking for an ad filter to be implemented? I have heard of it elsewhere, but I have so far been unsuccessful in finding it.

Respectfully

DaysEverlasting

[Peter__]

It is right here 😉 

Peter

[Sam · Accepted solution]

DaysEverlasting - Regarding the album artwork, as I said before, we believe in freedom of expression and do not censor content in any way. You agreed that you were either over 18 or had permission to use the service from a parent or guardian when you signed up.

With the ad, have you seen it again? If you have, please let us know. We'll look into it immediately.

[DaysEverlasting · Accepted solution]

No, I have not seen the ad since. 

And now that I have been able to view the terms of service (for some reason it would not load for me when I tried before), I see that essentially, my complaint is null. As are any of the complaints having to do with content. Which actually makes me wonder, why does Spotify even bother with these types of complaints if it won't affect them?

I am dissapointed.

[Ceekay]

I guess this a bad thing to tell you to go watch the new Robin Thicke music with nothing but naked women. The human body must be extremely offending. Derp. 😄

[DaysEverlasting]

You encountered: A wild troll! What do you do?

1: Fight

2: Run away

I choose run away. 😉

[MrRandomLT]

I'm also having problems with that. I'm from Lithuania and I'm getting an ad about "something that gives you an erection of a 20-year-old"  in lithuanian and shows a woman in a bra. I'm not bothered by that, but it is really uncomfortable when someone comes up behind me and sees a woman in a bra and stuff about erections on my screen.

[cydneybt]

 Do you guys have the option for us to report ads? 

Because this ad came up on my spotify as a banner and I am horrified that this was allowed. Since when does cheating=physical abuse? Seriously, guys?  

I wish that it hadn't taken me half an hour to find a way to share how disguested I was with this. 

[ME_YO]

Joe man shut up and get out of here. Spotify is by law not allowed to show such content irregardless of their policy and sane people (unlike you) should not be supportive to the normalization of such a cursed culture

[Esther5050]

Why is this marked as solved? Spotify is still showing extremely graphic ads to me 😞

Wouldn't be a problem if I didn't keep seeing the ad every three seconds. Literally, every single ad that I get is this same one and its disgusting.