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Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers

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Re: Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers

#61
post #2

I wonder if this also applies to people who edit their hosts file.

Probably, since most ad blocker detection can't tell the difference, and the difference is irrelevant to an ad vendor anyways.

I am looking forward to the day when the ad provider has an outage and spotify detects that 100% of their users do not load ads.

Or when popular antiviruses start blocking suspicious website contents.

Re: Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers

#62

Considering how services like Spotify and Apple Music incourage extra data usage, and randomally delete music as they see fit, I'm finding myself thinking more and more of these services as discovery tools (akin to radio) and less like media players (they aren't). One day very soon I'll be playing all my music in something else entirely again. While it's impossible to brush off the value of streaming services like Sp…

You can. You can freely mix purchased DRM free music, music from other sources and streaming music on Apple Music.

Re: Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers

#63
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I'm sure I'm in the minority, I absolutely do have the birthright to control what content appears on my device. If they want to prevent ads from being blocked, blocking me from using their service is 100% fine by me.

But that's not the same. You have the right to control your content, but that's not what's happening here. Presumably in this example you want to use Spotify (otherwise the whole conversation is moot) but they don't want to you circumvent how their service works. You're not the one controlling this situation, Spotify is. Your statement sounds very akin to "fine, kick me out of this party I was clearly enjoying, I don…

The analogy doesn't seem right. It's more like you are at a party and the clown they hired goes on your face to yell something. You have the right to move away and enjoy the party elsewhere. And now they'll kick you out of the party if you don't allow the clown to yell at you, ok, I'll leave the party myself in that case.

Re: Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can make songs available offline, meaning they're saved on your device. Not sure what else you could ask for, unless your problem is actually with DRM, not data usage.

Can't they delete it from your device if so they wanted?

You can also buy music from iTunes that you can keep locally. Yes it’s been DRM free for over a decade.

Re: Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers

#65

It's fascinating how we, humans, are lazy. We're lazy to the point where we'd gladly allow services like Spotify to control our computers just so they can make sure their ad was delivered. We'll even justify it by "well, I really listen to a lot of music". All I want is to push a button and get some bearable-noise during my 8 hours at work. I don't know about the rest, but I really hate when someone makes a fool out…

It isn't lazy to want to listen to unlimited music from an app on your phone. Its an efficient and a very useful service. There are other options (like buying albums), but Spotify makes it easier.

Re: Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers

#66

I dont get why people use spotify instead of listening to free online radios from anywhere in the world. As a bonus, its like travelling. There are ads, but they target other people than you so its not even annoying (you will not be influenced to buy a car at a dealership in another country). Note that if you are the kind who likes targeted ads, this does not apply to you.

Any kind of ads are annoying to me and well worth the couple of $/month alone, but I also like being able to skip songs I don't like and having in general a better set of songs that I actually enjoy

Re: Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers

#67
I basically see two schools of thought in the discussion:

1. People that believe ads are strictly a source of revenue. If you don't like them but want to use the service, pay for the service

2. People who believe that ads are more than a banner on the page, its permission for ad networks and services to run potentially malicious content on their computer

Re: Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then why don’t you pay for a subscription? If you keep listening to Spotify, surely it brings you value. I know I’m getting value from it. I listen to music all day at work and personally I don’t have many services that I use so often.

So the reason for that has more to do with my corporate firewall than anything. I do pay for subscription services that I enjoy more than Spotify (currently, Google Play Music and Tidal). However, I cannot have a phone at work, so I can't log into GPM (2FA requires the phone), and Tidal is blocked for other reasons. So that basically just leaves Spotify. I don't want to pay for a third subscription service that I onl…

> so I can't log into GPM (2FA requires the phone)

Use one of your backup codes?

Re: Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers

#70

It's fascinating how we, humans, are lazy. We're lazy to the point where we'd gladly allow services like Spotify to control our computers just so they can make sure their ad was delivered. We'll even justify it by "well, I really listen to a lot of music". All I want is to push a button and get some bearable-noise during my 8 hours at work. I don't know about the rest, but I really hate when someone makes a fool out…

What’s fascinating to me is the length people go to in order to justify freeloading. If you don’t like the ads, Spotify has a subscription plan. In my country that’s €5 / month. Surely that’s less money spent than the effort it takes to pirate music for usage with foobar2000.

So you're rewarding them for bad behavior with your money. Think about what this does to their incentives.
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