Interrupting ads in another language on podcasts with PREMIUM plan

[ZiggyZero]

Plan

Premium

Country

Italy

Device

Samsung Galaxy s20 

My Question or Issue

It's been a while that this is happening and can't find anyone else talking about this so here it goes. 

I'm a premium user since years. From about a year now it has become a norm to have ads, played by Spotify, in podcasts at the start and the end of the show. 

Please don't reply with that answer "influencers/podcasters may integrate ads and we can't prevent it" because obviously I'm not referring to these (quite fair IMO) sponsors, that are in partnership with podcasters, not YOU.

What's happening is that automatic ads, not added by the podcaster start to play. And how I know that isn't him/her to add these?

Simple. If I'm listening to an ITALIAN podcast, MAGICALLY I get non-related ads (that have nothing to do with the podcast content) in the language of my VPN connection.

So if for example my VPN is connected in London I get an annoying ad, added by spotify and NOT PRESENT in the audio of the podcast, in English. Despite the podcast is in Italian language. And they last 15 or 30 seconds.

If I change VPN magically the language of these ads changes as well, in the same exact podcast.

We pay premium for a reason: to avoid ads. You added automatic ads for premium users at the start and the end of podcast shows.

Like that wouldn't be enough, what happens now, is that the spotify app started adding ads in the middle of the show! So if we're listening to someone speaking, out of the blue an ad comes in and interrupts the audio! Sometimes in a language that I can't even understand. And again, they're clearly added by the app if they're played automatically in a different language on the same audio track!

Seriously who would ever think this is a good idea?

You're giving your customers a gentle push to change their music/podcasts app. I'm just saying that there's a popular video service that offers the content you have (spoiler: and much more!) for a premium plan without ads.

Adding ads for premium users is ridiculous and a borderline insult to someone who's giving you money. I'm not paying 120€ per year (for several years) to listen to your ads.

And again, this is your choice and not really a choice from podcasters, that of course have sponsors, for obvious reasons!

I seriously hope this is a dumb test for this "feature" and that it will be gone soon. 

[Alex]

Hey there @ZiggyZero,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community!

Other users have expressed their feelings about the ads in Podcasts in this Idea Thread. You can read the official answer to the request there.

Regarding the language of the ads - it's normal to get ads in the local Language of the Country your current IP address is coming from through the VPN. We don't recommend using a VPN at all and can't guarantee that all aspects of the app will work as intended wen a VPN is in use.

Hope you find this info useful.