Duplicates of the same albums

[Magic_13ananas]

Plan

Family

Country

UK

Device

iPhone 5S & Windows PC

Operating System

iOS 10 & Windows 7 & 10

My Question or Issue

Why are albums seemingly re-uploaded to the Spotify database with what looks like no changes what so ever?

The result is an unorganised collection of music that is saved across multiple locations i.e. Library and Playlists (and in some cases downloaded) but is not the same as what is available on Spotify's side so users run the risk of saving or even downloading the same track or album twice if they don't pay enough attention.

Below is an example of what I'm describing and what the effects can be if not checked/noticed.

It's worth noting that this is not a case of artists releasing an "updated" or "extended" version; it's exactly the same album.

What is going on?

Album saved in my library

The same album as found on the artist's page (not saved)

The result of saving the not-saved album

[Magic_13ananas]

Just checked and it's surprisingly difficult to fix a double-saved album.

If you're unfortunate and manage to save an album twice (2 different versions) and try to un-save one of them (after trying to figure out which is the (in)correct one), it un-saves both albums, leaving you with an empty shell of the album art that has the "you have not saved any of this album yet" message inside.

This then means you have to go back to the artist's page and save the album manually; re-download it (if you're on wifi or aren't precious about mobile data) if you had it previously; and deselect any songs you didn't save in the first place.

[Magic_13ananas]

Not a single word, even to say "acknowledged"?

[Magic_13ananas]

I'm noticing it more and more often; I have 16 albums in my library that according to Spotify, don't exist anymore and have been silently replaced.

[Magic_13ananas]

Plan

Family Premium

Country

UK

Device

ALL

Operating System

ALL

My Question or Issue

More and more albums are being reuploaded into Spotify's database (replaced) but are not being replaced in users' saved libraries.

Saved (and/or downloaded) albums can be duplicated when a silent reupload happens which can result in extra space being used, a reduction listening experience due to repeat tracks being heard and the loss of saved music if not managed properly among such other issues.

As it states above, this is across all platforms and operating systems (I urge any user reading this to check for themselves) and is not fixed by a restart, log out/in or a clean install.

Info/evidence is here: https://community.spotify.com/t5/iOS-iPhone-iPad/BUG-Duplicates-of-the-same-albums/td-p/4542505

[Peter]

Hey @Magic_13ananas,

Thanks for coming to the Community, and sorry we haven't got back to you sooner!

As our catalog is continuously updated, some older versions of tracks may get replaced with newer ones.

For the saved ones you're seeing duplicated, you mentioned unsaving sometimes removes both versions. Does a reinstall fix this?

In addition, could you copy the URIs of some of the duplicate albums here (e.g. Dark Matter), if they are different to each other?

Keep us posted,

P

[Magic_13ananas]

Hi Peter, thanks for the reply.

I’m not sure which part you’re referring to with regards to a reinstall presenting a fix; fixing the fact that unsaving removes both or fixing the issue of 2 albums being saved in the first place.

Nevertheless, I can’t comment on whether it fixes any issue while it’s present—while duplicates are saved or when both have been removed—but I can say that it doesn’t stop it happening again in the future.

I understand that sometimes music is updated but why when there are no changes to any track in the album what so ever?

[Peter]

Hey @Magic_13ananas,

Thanks for getting back to us 🙂

I was referring to the former issue with regard to the reinstall. Any luck?

We're not too sure why this is happening (re: the duplicate albums), but in order to find out whether they are true duplicates, would you mind sharing the URIs of the duplicates?

To get the URI, you just need to right-click on the album in the desktop app, go to Share > Copy Spotify URI.

Take care,

P

[Magic_13ananas]

Yeah sure I’ll get a few links to you when I’m back at a desktop

[Magic_13ananas]

There are many others, but here are some examples:

Saved: spotify:album:0Zbbj4xLh815b7Ld1PX9xQ

On artist page: spotify:album:3Mysd7Ss3Hg93X6TA4ZBh6

Saved: spotify:album:6EBNlMn22avWfoDHl8f6FR

On artist page: spotify:album:2jqNXlaGROfgQrD9owrwlm

Saved: spotify:album:6EV2sRJ3B7XhGJJxzlBpZd

On artist page: spotify:album:146lsgsoDkI9Dz06nnO2Sw

Saved: spotify:album:2IQJ9PCrk3BQxEAJeHFe21

On artist page: spotify:album:6V6gdGipp0f4dF8nauyFeX

Saved: spotify:album:1Gw4wA7DJAW21RGb47dm33

On artist page: spotify:album:7fT0MPZl2xR6swdf5SW6AD

Saved: spotify:album:1RVOo1b2jdBei0B8Y4qWhi

On artist page: spotify:album:5ImY2Ky7CCEAaoV9WUwk59

Saved: spotify:album:5VNTJutFuF9idmnDDzfyzf

On artist page: spotify:album:0TQfdHyGNJ1zMJG4YdwcSY

Saved: spotify:album:7JXzUgMregnvyAnmRfVOh5

On artist page: spotify:album:65jmbHYm42IEATHEJCbKgC

Saved: spotify:album:4Amz9cql3seWOrnqyJ1Lxq

On artist page: spotify:album:4sz6Fn4BYORRLIc1AvQwQx

Saved: spotify:album:4Gq9LCFkf6FU7TExZzN5rX

On artists page: spotify:album:0h4G4OxUKLVwBhHTGzLNsv

Saved: spotify:album:6yhsK5J3ejY2yvai2a3lsg

On artist page: spotify:album:60YtWtJrXvNXkaypM8zbSK

Saved: spotify:album:7LYEVLZYDN0nIGMunzfjoJ

On artist page: spotify:album:2wrZ0F6Jjnk0Iyavcq5d1v

Saved: spotify:album:6Lq4DjGzV4rgjLEopaoCgK

On artist page: spotify:album:7nsk1bK6fnW1acWEGfkjkI