Why is there a dark overlay on the canvas videos?

[an_olivas]

Plan

Premium

Country

United State

Device

iPhone XR

Operating System

Latest iOS as of 5/18/22

My Question or Issue

Why did Spotify add a dark overlay to its canvas videos?

I like to screen record these canvas videos and share them to my instagram, but now that there's a dark overlay I'm forced to use the inhouse "Add to instagram stories" feature - as this is the only current way to remove the dark overlay from the canvas. This wouldn't be a problem, except that the imported video is only 7 seconds long. What if I want to post more than 7 seconds of video to my story? The answer is, I do, and to do so I'd have to export multiple canvases. It's time consuming and bothersome. Whereas I used to be able to just screen record a vibrant visual with perfect aspect ratios for iPhone screens, I now have to go out of my way to achieve what used to take 30 seconds tops. 

Not sure why this was necessary/implemented. If anything it's just made me annoyed because now I can't add to my stories in the way I'd like. On top of that the dark overlay just generally brings down the whole point of the canvas feature in my opinion - and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. Why include a visual for a song if you're just going to make it seem like I'm viewing said video through a pair of shades that I didn't ask to wear? Just let me view the video the way it was intended to be seen...

[BrandonHann]

Plan

Premium

Country

US

Device

Iphone13 pro

Operating System

Ios15.4.1

My Question or Issue

When i touch the canvas it usually hides the interface and the canvas get brighter. However after the update even though i touch the canvas and the interface disappears the canvas is yet dimmed and does not get brighter.
 

[yungsum]

I’m having this issue too, the black shadow does not disappear when you tap the canvas. Will add a picture to show as well.

 

[Dian]

Hey @yungsum and @BrandonHann,

Thanks for posting your experiences with Canvas in the Community.

Let's start by performing a clean reinstall to be sure we're dealing with a fresh installation of the Spotify app. Here is how to do one. 

If that doesn't resolve the issue, we'd like to know more about your device setup. Could you tell us the brand/model and operating system of the affected device together with the Spotify version installed on it?

In the meantime we'd like to ask you to try to replicate the issue on another device, different network or with a different account.

Keep us posted,

Cheers!

[yungsum]

Hey! Thank you.

Yesterday I followed those instructions including a clean re-install, but I’m having the same issue.

I’m running Spotify on an iPhone XR, and on the most current iOS update (iOS 15.4.1).

[Jeremy]

Hi there @yungsum,

Thank you for your reply and for the troubleshooting you've done so far.

Can you let us know which version of the app you're having?

Also, does this occur on one specific song or all songs in general?

We'll be on the lookout for your reply.

Take care!

[yungsum]

Hey! I’m running version 8.7.30, the newest version according to the iOS App Store. And it happens with every song, not just one.

[ClubP24]

Recently, I noticed that the Spotify Canvas has been acting somewhat strange. Around April of 2022, when trying to focus on the Canvas video playing in the background, the "shadow" effect seen during normal playback will appear over the Canvas video, when it did not do this before. Picture 1 showcases the focused Canvas video on March 28, 2022, without the "shadow" effect applied. Picture 2 showcases the focused Canvas video on May 17, 2022, with the effect overlapped. Notice the artist name and logo in the left-hand corner in both images, and how it's visible in the first, and hidden in the second. I tried contacting Spotify Support, but they claim this is the feature running as usual. I'm requesting it be reverted to it's original state, as I feel the original provides a better look and provide a better experience for the listener, and the shadow can potentially lower the effect of the Canvas in the app.

[AndresM]

Hey @yungsum,

Thanks for your last reply. 

In this case, we recommend that you check your battery settings and make sure that Spotify has no restrictions on your phone. Additionally, we suggest that you head to the Home screen, look for Settings and then tap on it. Scroll to, and tap General > touch Background App Refresh. You will see a list of apps that use the service. 

Make sure Spotify has this option "On". 

Changing tunes, let us know if this happens when logging in with a different account (if possible)

We'll be here standing by.

[yungsum]

Hey, I tried with another account (free account), but still having the same Canvas issue.

I've also done a second clean install (following your instructions), and nothing changed. It's not a "massive" deal, but I am pretty detail oriented and it does throw me off, almost making me not want to listen to it anymore (or switch off the Canvas setting in general, which I would much rather not do).

All this to say is, I'm not trying to be rude. I'm sure it's difficult and frustrating trying to diagnose a problem that I'm sure isn't widespread, but I can see it affecting some users (example: https://community.spotify.com/t5/iOS-iPhone-iPad/Why-is-there-a-dark-overlay-on-the-canvas-videos/m-...).

Above in the community link, the gentleman is running Spotify on an iPhone XR, which is the same as I, so maybe that's something worth mentioning. Wish I could do something to help.

I think it's the dark black overlay near the bottom of the player in Now Playing View (Mobile). The shadow doesn't disappear when you click on the Canvas, which is abnormal.

Thank you so much for helping.

Running: iPhone XR

iOS 15.4.1

Clean install per instruction of Spotify

[Novanox]

I m’n an artist and I can confirm that the overlay is not made by myself or any other artists. I don’t understand why this is implemented because as stated by you, it makes the artwork look terrible. Please fix this Spotify… its degrading the experience 

[Jeremy]

Hi @yungsum,

Thank you for getting back in touch with us and for the troubleshooting you've done so far.

We've tried this from our end and we can reproduce the same behavior on iOS.

This has been reported to the right team, however we can't say when or if this will get fixed but we always recommend that you keep your app up to date for any kind of updates.

Once again, thank you for the troubleshooting you've done and for letting us know about this.

Have a great Friday and a wonderful start of your weekend 🙂 

[juliodlc]

Same problem over here in iOS 15.5 iPhone 13. Please, we need asap a fix for this.

[Alex]

Hey folks,

Thanks for the reports.

The right teams at Spotify are on the case as we speak 🙂

We'll let you know here as soon as we have more info.

Cheers.

[qinf0717]

I've experiencing the same issue with Canvas too. The video looks super dark and doesn't seem like will bring a good experience to my audience!

[qinf0717]

I've experiencing the same issue with Canvas video. It darkens my video a lot and don't think it will be a good experience for my audience. please fix this!

[Drah27]

i am having the same issue as everyone and it' sssssuuuuuuuper frustrating. also, thank yo spotify for responding but asking the creators to change our settings isn't useful since if it's an issue in settings, other users won't know that and they will just think the imagery ppl are making is not good. this is a really cool feature that the only way it seems to remedy is to re-edit your mp4s to a brightness that doesn't get completely washed out in canvas. with is super time consuming. spotify, please please fix this!