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[All Platforms] No Ads in Podcasts for Spotify Premium users

I pay for my subscription. Every month for years now. The main reason I am a paid-for subscriber with Spotify is so I don't have to hear ads. As I have shifted my podcast listening from other providers to Spotify to bypass ads, both from the platform as well as integrated into the content.

 

I expect not to hear ads on Spotify. I understand there are ads woven into the actual content of the podcast itself, but for as big of a company and the amount of leverage Spotify has, I expect to not hear ads so long as I am paying for the service.

 

I reached out to Spotify and got this lazy, generic answer from Joy in Spotify Customer Support: “if you're hearing ads on podcasts using this Premium account. It's possible that the podcaster integrated that ads to their podcast content”. Thanks for breaking your back on that response.

 

I KNOW what the ads I’m hearing are. And I understand they can’t ask podcasters to export two versions, one with integrated ads and one without. What I expect from Spotify is to either implement metadata that tags the beginning and ending of ad segments and bypass them for us, Premium subscribers, or require podcasters to give metadata timecodes that Spotify can identify to bypass them AUTOMATICALLY.

 

Just to be clear, even if these identifiers are put into the content, I don’t want to have to pull my phone out to hit any sort of “skip ads” button. This is literally the ONLY reason users have Premium. So get rid of the ads. It’s actually very simple. And let’s not get started on how archaic it is to continually hit the “15sec forward” button to bypass the ads, first over shooting, then undershooting the duration of the integrated ad, only to have to make peace with hearing the last ten seconds of the ad. At that point it’s not servicing either party in the transaction.

 

It’s 2020. You are a huge company with a lot of leverage and a huge developer budget. I honestly can’t believe I’m even having to write this suggestion.

 

tl:dr - Spotify, I am a Premium member. You made a promise to me that if I became a Premium member, I wouldn’t hear ads. I’m hearing ads on podcasts. Integrated or not, I don’t care. You have the technology and power to fix it. So fix it. And make it automatic. It’s 2020.

Updated on 2023-04-15

Hey folks,

The Ideas section provides users with the opportunity to share their opinion on what features and app improvements can be developed, to make Spotify better. This idea however, in it's core fundamentals, requires to change how the Premium subscription works and what opportunities Spotify offers to Podcast creators.

 

As part of the Premium subscription, all music can be enjoyed ad-free. And while Spotify doesn’t play ads that interrupt the music listening experience of Premium subscribers, some podcasts may include advertising, host-read endorsements, or sponsorship independently of the streaming platforms featuring such podcasts.

 

Providing a way to circumvent those is not something that our Idea submission process can accomplish.


This doesn't mean that your feedback isn't heard and that this request couldn't be fulfilled by some other means in the future. On the contrary, this is being monitored and we invite everyone to share their opinion in a constructive manner. We will then ensure to pass it on to the relevant teams.

 

Please do note, that we do understand the overall sentiment and if the thread stops being useful as a source to track constructive feedback, we will need to close it for further replies.

 

All the best!

Comments
Dantpool

I've also recently started noticing ads being randomly played in between Podcast episodes despite having a Premium account.  These are not ad reads from the podcast, or ads inserted into the podcast episodes themselves, these are unskippable Spotify inserted ads, with their own display, name, and runtime separate from the podcast episode.

lmnop3

My feedback is that Spotify Premium is a poor service given that there are ads in podcasts. I don't pay to listen to ads, and because of this, I am going to cancel my Spotify account.

 

I know that these are not added by the creators as Spotify claims, as they are in different languages, so please do NOT give me the rote script you always give about "podcast creators may include third-party advertising, host-read endorsements, or sponsorship messages in their episodes." These are also not embedded ads, as there was a recent change in the embedded ads in podcasts to the obnoxious, irrelevant and frankly stupid ad choices that Spotify is inputting. 

 

Paying for a service that still includes ads is no service at all. This needs to end. This is a scam. 

lmnop3

To all new commenters - PLEASE contact a support representative here  and here because the more we bombard support with this issue, the less sustainable it will be for them to continue with this bullsh!t of their tedious ads in podcasts for Spotify Premium. 

FYI Spotify, we still absolutely hate this and will keep complaing here, in ideas and via support chat until you remove them! 

simon2001
just cancel. they dont care you dont like ads. they will ignore your
complaints. just cancel and move to a better provider. i canelled months
ago and im glad i did.
annettekusma

When I start an episode of "Fest & Flauschig", a Spotify Exclusive podcast, an ad is played. It occurs only when I start a new episode, but even if I've already listened to that episode.

 

This is not an ad inserted into the podcast by the podcaster. It's a Spotify Original podcast, so the podcaster should be paid anyway. If these ads are ordered by the podcaster for extra revenue, they have not been transparent about this. I have a feeling the advertising started around a new contract period.

I have read this thread: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Subscriptions/Premium-account-gives-me-ads/td-p/4882452 which is marked as solved, but it's about inserted ads and about choice by podcaster. I did the recommended trouble shooting steps (restart device, log out of and into spotify again) from that thread.

If subscription revenue and non-subscriber ad revenue is not enough to finance Spotify Exclusive content, I suggest to split up subscription fees into music and podcast subscriptions. I rather pay than listen to ads. And I'd appreciate very much if both Spotify and the podcasters be transparent about this. We are talking about three different types of ads: 1) for non-subscribers; 2) third party podcasters choose to finance their podcast with ads that are part of the episode sound file; 3) Spotify or podcasters finance Spotify Exclusive podcasts at least partly by extending targeted ad audience to paying subscribers. I am looking forward to transparency about 3).

 

More on the behaviour:

 

When I start a new episode, the playing-now-strip at the bottom of the app is temporarily removed so it looks like the ad connot be skipped. I usually turn down the volume, but then the app occasionally takes this as an order to just pause, and when I up the volume again, I have to press play and the ad starts again. Also, sometimes the podcast plays (seconds are ticking), but no sound can be heard, pause-play does not help and down-up volume does not help, but skipping usually does the trick, that is, skip 15 seconds forward, hear the sound, skip them backward again. If you skip backwards twice, that is, if you skip beyond the start, you end up hearing the ad again.

 

I realized only today that one in fact can skip through the ad when clicking on the episode itself. You need to know which eposode you started, which is not always the case, and it is obviously annoying, skipping is not a solution.

tifa8572

Your post exactly sums up how I feel about ads.

On Spotify's part it's dishonest, greedy and unethical.

If this was a high street trader or online retailer appropriate steps would have been already taken by regulators to put an end to this shoddy practice. As an international company Spotify should be ashamed of themselves.

 

 

 

Carighan

This is really really close to making my unsubscribe.

 

Not only do I get ads in the middle and at the beginning of my podcast - which are clearly not part of the podcast, as those also play! - but on top of that, Spotify as a company wastes the money they greedily gather up on right-wingers like Joe Rogan. Just fire him and you got more than enough money spare to not play extra ads.

It's super-dishonest, more so because you support people keep insisting that these must be part of the content. They're very clearly not, and in fact some of the podcasters I follow have started very clearly saying that if you hear ads on Spotify, that's on the company not them and we should take it up with you, Spotify.

 

If you want my premium subscription, give me ad-free. If you cannot even do that, why would I want to pay you to remove ads? You're not holding up your side of the contract, clearly.

Bozchoc

I pay for premium and I still get ads in Podcasts. Don't tell me it's the Podcasters putting the ads in there because I also have Spotify in my car and there are no ads during podcasts in the car, so it can be done!

Fix it!

RTBRKR

I have been using Spotify since 2014 I believe, but as they are planning to increase the family plan from £17.99 to £19.99 next month, (last increase was in 2021 from £14.99 to £17.99, so £4 in three years) and due the continue stubbornness in keeping advertising premium users accounts on podcasts, I have now cancelled my account. It will end the 13/04. #byebyespotify7f274254-cf3d-4318-a15b-b22605b96ffa.jpg

RTBRKR

I have been using Spotify since 2014 I believe, but as they are planning to increase the family plan from £17.99 to £19.99 next month, (last increase was in 2021 from £14.99 to £17.99, so £4 in three years) and due the continue stubbornness in keeping advertising premium users accounts on podcasts, I have now cancelled my account. It will end the 13/04. #byebyespotify
#byebyespotify#byebyespotify