Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers • Hacker News Board

Re: Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers

#71

Post by shimman » Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 11:59 PM UTC

piva00 wrote: post #65

shimman wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish! Just tried this on the iPhone app (sure it's all the same flavor of electron) but it doesn't work.

It does work, I just did on my app, swiping right will show an icon to add to queue on the left side of the track, slide it until it's green. The iPhone app is not Electron, it's a native app.

This appears to only work for songs, this action does not work for podcasts or playlists. Wow! What bad engineering culture, likely only caring about what's in the ticket and not the feature overall. I guess this is what happens to a product after spending a decade only hiring people who can do leetcode.

Re: Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers

#72

Post by rchaud » Thu, Mar 19, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC

OptionOfT wrote: post #63

shimman wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spotify has always been garbage software long before LLMs. PM/devs like to justify their constant a/b testing to gamify metrics to curry raises/promotions but for end users all we're dealt with is a constantly broken/changing UI. My biggest peeve with Spotify UI is how hard it is to add something to your current playing queue, an action I would assume is quite common but you have to scroll down to hit several control…

Sounds like they have the same problem all software companies have as soon as the MBAs took over. Metrics, not for the purpose of making the software better, but to justify someone's existence in the company.

The MBAs work in the interests of the C-suite. It's their stat-padding that's made Daniel Ek a billionnaire despite running losses for 99% of the time he's led the company.

Re: Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers

#73

Post by lowenbjer » Thu, Mar 19, 2026, 12:08 AM UTC

paxys wrote: post #61

lowenbjer wrote: post #30

"the spotify subreddit is actively removing discussion of the problem" This sounds like terribly bad form, won't buy them any goodwill down the line.

> This subreddit is mainly for sharing Spotify playlists. We're not a support community, and we encourage users to use official support channels for most issues. Literally the first line of the sub description.

Fair enough! Can't argue with that

Re: Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers

#74

Post by Froedlich » Thu, Mar 19, 2026, 12:24 AM UTC

We had two broadcast TV channels where we lived when I was growing up in the 1970s. My Dad signed up for cable TV. It ran 24/7 instead of 6AM-to-midnight (yes, broadcast TV went off the air at midnight in many areas) and it had no commercials.

A few years after getting cable, they started running ads on it. Dad for furious. "No ads" was one of the things he was paying for, as he saw it.

Ironically, half the ads - at least in the beginning - were urging people to sign up for cable TV. But people couldn't see the ads unless they already had cable TV...

Re: Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers

#75

Post by Good53139428015 » Thu, Mar 19, 2026, 12:34 AM UTC

[flagged]

Re: Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers

#76

Post by adi_kurian » Thu, Mar 19, 2026, 12:51 AM UTC

After having, as a teenager, having been, unbeknownst to me, a bonafied in the flesh content marketing tool of Spotify, it was thrilling to cancel my subscription this year as I learned more about their advertising business and clients.

Re: Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers

#77

Post by ttbigroad94 » Thu, Mar 19, 2026, 12:58 AM UTC

[dead]

Re: Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers

#78

Post by AniseAbyss » Thu, Mar 19, 2026, 1:05 AM UTC

rchaud wrote: post #72

OptionOfT wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like they have the same problem all software companies have as soon as the MBAs took over. Metrics, not for the purpose of making the software better, but to justify someone's existence in the company.

The MBAs work in the interests of the C-suite. It's their stat-padding that's made Daniel Ek a billionnaire despite running losses for 99% of the time he's led the company.

[dead]

Re: Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers

#79

Post by _DeadFred_ » Thu, Mar 19, 2026, 1:53 AM UTC

Festro wrote: post #4

I gave up on Spotify as I started to listen to more podcasts which had their own ads inside them let alone Spotify's. Now I'm paying for Youtube (never thought I'd be doing that) and using the new(ish) jump ahead feature to skip in-video ad segments including in video podcasts. Problem largely solved?

Check out the Sponsor block browser plugin to auto skip that stuff.

Re: Spotify playing ads for paid subscribers

#80

Post by captain_coffee » Thu, Mar 19, 2026, 2:01 AM UTC

I was having ads played even with the most expensive Spotify subscription a few years ago because ... feel this: The ads were CHOSEN BY THE END CLIENT, not Spotify itself as a legal entity. Needless to say that I am no longer using Spotify for a few years now and I highly encourage a mass exodus from the platform.