Upset

[no-name]

I'm very upset with the new condom adds I'm getting on spotify... I hated the adds in the first place but this and the non stop glitches are the final straw... there are kids on this program... I will be uninstalling spotify as well as telling all my friends about this... don't come back with: " well if you would buy spotify premium you won't have to listen to the adds" because I'm not waisting a single dime on this program.... I'd rather spend a dollar per song on itunes

[GabbyDelgado]

I completely agree.  I am an 8th grade science teacher and having the "When it comes to sex" announced to my classes and the commencement of talking about Durex condoms is not exactly something that I think the parents of my students would appreciate.  I don't mind the other commercials, I just mind the ones that aren't kid friendly.

[Stevebassist]

This is my first time on the forum and I'm only here for one reason. I'm here to complain about the condom ad. I was completely shocked when I heard it. Please, please, please take it down. My 8 year old daughter (a future music buyer) loves listening to Spotify but with that ad up, I'm not going to let her listen anymore. It's inappropriate and your ad reps should use better judgement when they're trying to sell airtime. 

[MulinoMom]

Hey Spotify,

I'm just getting used to your program but you really need to develop a rating for the ads.  On tv, if you are watching a g rated show,  you expect to get g rated commercials.  Same way for MA shows, you can expect MA commercials.  If I listening to g rated bluegrass music I shouldn't get a R rated advertisement blasted across my speakers with no warning! Don't get me wrong, condoms are important and we should be talking about them,  but you need to develop some ad ratings opt out so we can tailor the experience for  those with young children in the house that are learning new vocabulary. Some words just cannot be repeated in church no matter how important they are!

[Makhaon]

Everyone here don't forget to tag your posts and give Kudos to posts discussing this problem. The awareness of the ad issue needs to be kept on the front page until it is taken care of.

Here is one idea that could use some Kudos. It's on page 4 of Top Ideas at the moment. Let's try to bump it up a couple pages to get a better response than the generic answers we've gotten in this thread.

http://community.spotify.com/t5/Spotify-Ideas/Safer-For-Work-Ads/idi-p/11675

[princessro07]

I too came to the forums explicitly to see if anyone else was talking about these terrible ads.  I'm 23, but am morally opposed to condoms and am offended by them.  I do not wish to be subjected to these terrible ads each time I want to listen to Spotify.  I understand the need for ads, but to use the example of Facebook, there are better ways to deploy advertising that is good for both the advertiser and consumer.  On Facebook when offensive ads come up, I just click the little x and it goes away, giving me a different ad.  I can't believe this has been a problem for so long without any response from Spotify.  It's just crappy business policy.

[DAH]

Please, Spotify! Get rid of the condom ads!! I was recommending Spotify to others. I can't anymore. Do you not realize that people start out using free Spotify, and will not upgrade to premium Spotify if put off by your advertising decisions?

[Makhaon]

I agree. I will not recommend Spotify to anyone again until these types of ads are gone.

[JWfan]

I'll take the bland "try out Spotify Premium" ads any day, all day, over these sexually obscene ads. I have a right to hear music without that trash, Spotify had better allow you to tailor what ads you get to match your views and interests or something.

[ckoois01]

I agree -- the sex ads are COMPLETELY inappropriate. There should be "ad preferences" allowing spotify users to change "default" ad settings. This is outrageous. I can no longer listen to spotify at work without literally RUNNING to turn down the volume when the Durex ad comes on... Please, spotify, fix this problem or continue losing users!!!

[shawker · Accepted solution]

It seems to be unanimous here: Get rid of that ad!

I will not be using Spotify again until I read on here that that ad is gone. 

[hdleavitt]

I logged on specifically to complain about these condom ads. I understand that Spotify needs revenue from ads, however, these are totally inappropriate. I work at a high school and like to listen to Spotify while working. Thankfully I didn't have any students in my room when I first heard this ad! What I find even more frustrating is that if I turn down the volume the ad pauses- I am literally FORCED to listen to it! Please remove this ad immediately, Spotify! 

[gdevore]

The only way I have found to actually skip the ad is to quit and relaunch Spotify. Muting just pauses the ad.

[princessBern]

Some of us just don't like to hear that sort of advertising.  If a person is listening to lots of music that talks explicitly about sex, I could understand Spotify allowing those kinds of ads.  But if a person is listening to Christian gospel music, I can almost assure you that they will be disgusted with the ad. 

[MarisM]

I agree. I can't use Spotify with other people around anymore unless I have headphones in. If only there was a way to block specific ads - I've seen several websites doing that now so their users hear ads that might actually encourage them to buy something instead of making them upset.

[ferbit]

Totally agree!  Thanks so much for postitng this.  I created a Spotify Community account just to post about that awful condom commercial.  My 9-year-old heard it yesterday so I immediately turned off Spotify for the rest of the day.  I'm listening to Spotify this morning (kids aren't here) and just heard the commercial again about half an hour ago.  So upset it's still on the air.  😞

I agree with previous posters that some sort of FILTER would be fabulous or I'll have to uninstall Spotify.  😞  Such a shame too because it's a great app.

[iluvjinger]

SERIOUSLY, spotify, listen to your customers and DO SOMETHING to make us happy. Remember that saying: "The customer is always right"? Well, you have 12 PAGES of customers who are disgusted with this ad. Stop ignoring the problem and FIX IT!

[Suprhero]

While the algorithm makes sense, I'm 20-almost 21, and I don't want any of this nonsense going on here. I was working on a Sunday School lesson when this came up, the first time. It wasn't even an hour for the next. I cannot find anywhere to report that I don't want this ad around me anymore. Honestly, that'd probably fix the problem for me personally. However, I think you guys can now tell that this wasn't the best move on your part. I'd suggest some sort of algorithm that advertises more focused to what is listened to (since you guys obviously must be keeping count, you gotta pay royalties) and target more based on what we listen to, like Google targets their ads. Even Facebook tries to, and gives me an option to remove the ad if I don't like it. Come on guys.

[captionerlady]

I am surprised that the first complaint on this was in July, and here we are in September, and still hearing the ads.  My daughter listens, and will be stopping her from listening now because of this particular ad.

[Makhaon]

I hadn't heard it for a few days and then tonight it came on again. For Pete's Sake, get rid of this stupid ad. 

[JoelMay]

I was listening to Spotify at work a few days ago and the ad came on. I frantically quit Spotify and contemplated my best free option among of Grooveshark, Pandora, and Google Music (with music that I own). Spotify decision makers, remember that you are not the only free solution. Offensive ads are not going to make me pay to remove them; they will make me find another free service.

Seriously, how much would it cost to have the developers to make a system where users can block certain ads? It seems like it would cost less than the ad-generated revenue from the users who are currently leaving Spotify.

If you are going to claim that it is morally wrong to use Grooveshark then you have a double standard because you are supporting a company that has a very dull sense of morality in the opinion of all the users who have complained here and the ones who didn't complain, but just quit using Spotify.