Why do i have ads on my podcasts even with premium?

[ToastMaster791]

This has only been a recent issue for me (the last 2 months maybe), but it's been a constant thing with every podcast I listen to.

Each time I go to listen to a podcast, it opens up immediately with a 1-2 minute ad, then periodically sometimes in the middle of sentences another 1-2 minute ad starts playing.

If I pay every month for "no ads" how come I'm getting them now? I've been re-listening to a podcast I love which had no ads whatsoever even before I had premium, and now all of the sudden ads are everywhere in these episodes.

So what's happening? Why do I pay monthly for something that doesn't even give me what I pay for? I'm thinking of switching apps because this is just frustrating.

[ToastMaster791]

Hey, I want to clarify here.  Podcasts usually include some advertising. This has been the case since the early days of podcasts, and continues to be true today, including on Spotify. Even as a Premium user, you may receive advertising or sponsored messages when playing a podcast. If you are a Premium user, you will still enjoy an ad-free music listening experience but this doesn't apply to podcasts. We don't offer premium podcast subscriptions. 

[tmetcalf44]

I have had to skip almost the first 7 minutes of a podcast due to non-read, inserted ads.
So, so frustrating.

[Milo_88]

QUICK UPDATE 9/2025

I just had a conversation with Spotify support (very kind and helpful operators) about this issue. I explained that the problem isn't the ads inserted in the podcast track, but those short ads (one or two 10-15 second ones) that play BEFORE the podcast track is played. From my point of view, they have nothing to do with the ads that podcast authors can choose to insert in their podcast track, but they are ads that Spotify could easily choose not to play (at least for premium users who PAY NOT TO HEAR ADS). From a commercial standpoint, this is a terrible choice, especially considering the ever-increasing costs of subscriptions (Family in my case).

[ew0it0me]

I am just got eight ads in a row in one break in the same podcast. not ads in the episode, ads from Spotify. what the **bleep**? I understand one or two per podcast episode, but EIGHT? I pay for premium to not have ads. 

[volkris]

A customer service agent pointed me to this, and I just wanted to give some feedback that I stopped using Spotify podcasts and switched to a different app because of this issue. When I couldn't skip ads anymore, I jumped ship. 

I really hope Spotify changes this behavior someday.

I understand why they do it, but they might be losing more customers than makes it worthwhile.