Why do i have ads on my podcasts even with premium?

[ToastMaster791]

This has only been a recent issue for me (the last 2 months maybe), but it's been a constant thing with every podcast I listen to.

Each time I go to listen to a podcast, it opens up immediately with a 1-2 minute ad, then periodically sometimes in the middle of sentences another 1-2 minute ad starts playing.

If I pay every month for "no ads" how come I'm getting them now? I've been re-listening to a podcast I love which had no ads whatsoever even before I had premium, and now all of the sudden ads are everywhere in these episodes.

So what's happening? Why do I pay monthly for something that doesn't even give me what I pay for? I'm thinking of switching apps because this is just frustrating.

[Anyk17 · Accepted solution]

Hey @ToastMaster791!

Thanks for posting in the Spotify Community.

While the Spotify app doesn’t play ads that interrupt the music listening experience of Premium subscribers, some podcasts on the platform may include third-party advertising, host-read endorsements or sponsorship messages in their episodes. There’s more info about this here.

Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

[kiik]

I also get ads even thou I pay premium - not ads from the host but from spotify insertion - for example I listen to a podcast from Brasil that has ads from the host (brasilian ads) but now on top of that I'm getting ads in swedish (mcdonalds for example)

[ancepsinfans]

@Anyk17 I'm afraid you're wrong. 
I came to this thread because I (premium user) was listening to a podcast just now and got slapped with Spotify ads. This is not embedded in the podcast, rather there's a message in the side panel that says "Your podcast will continue after the break", and additionally in the bottom tray it says "Advertisement". 

Why is this happening?

[Jay1278]

I get the same answers from these bots . Nothing but a fight with this useless system.  If u see they hide behind music only is ad free . Shame on u Spotify 

[ToastMaster791]

Exactly! Old podcasts/episodes that never had ads even before I had premium, now have all these "embedded ads" in the middle of sentences. I also get the side panel you're talking about. 

This is bs the way they're taking our money and not even giving us what we paid for. I might switch apps because of this.

[Amplifiction]

I too can confirm: Spotify inserts ads before podcasts that are NOT part of the podcast itself. I know this because Spotify offers podcasts by our national news agency, which the agency itself offers ad-free on its own website/app.

Spotify premium is way too expensive, especially after the recent price increase. And now we get ads anyway? Too greedy. Canceling subscription.

[Kureenoth]

I am also concerned about the greedy double-dipping by podcast producers. They run advertisements in the podcast, and then also dun us to subscribe to their Patreon. What? You already charged us once, by forcing your advertisements on us! 

And then, when I hit "New Episodes" to see what's dropped, half of those listings SAY they're a specific podcast, but contain only a commercial for a different podcast. Again, greedy and deceptive.

Fortunately, this can't possibly be sustainable. Think about it: If I follow 10 podcasts (I actually listen to more) and had to join each on Patreon for $5 monthly to get their full programming, that's $600 a year! For a LOT less programming hours than I would get by paying for, say, cable or satellite television. And that's IN ADDITION to the ridiculous number of podcast ads and spam, and the monthly Spotify subscription scam!

At some point, we users have to feel abused, and cancel everything. 

[AmandaChristina]

I just had this issue too. Never have I had third party ads in podcasts as a Premium user up until a day ago. Had a long road trip, downloaded the podcasts I wanted to listen to. Halfway through the road trip I had been logged out of Spotify and had to log back in. That's when the ads started. They'd blast on before and during the podcast. They'd be louder than the actual podcast and incredibly irritating -I wasn't able to easily skip them while driving. This has annoyed me A LOT, especially since I was enjoying ad free podcasts before. This is not a value add, it's been a downgrade. After being a paid subscriber to spotify for a few years now, I am exploring alternative platforms. If anyone has some suggestions, please post them here!

[brunopbarbosa]

I have been experiencing the same thing for the last month or so. Premium account, get Spotify generated ad insertions with completely irrelevant ads (I live Europe, and get ads for US only products and companies), and the strangest thing is that i only seem to get them when i'm playing the podcasts on my car's native app. On the phone or desktop, it never seems to happen. If this is not a bug, it's a really bad move to do to a paying customer.

[rickertha]

I've just experienced this for the first time just now. Absolutely incredible, I've been customer for close to a decade and I'm going to cancel my account.

[HunzHurte]

I'm a Premium user and I've recently started having the same problem. For example, when I listen to the JRE podcast, I get an ad insertion every 2-3 minutes, sometimes it's even two consecutive ads, even in offline mode. For a 3+ hour episode, that would mean up to 100 ads per episode. Again, I pay Spotify monthly for this unlistenable bs when even on YouTube (free) it's 100 times more bearable. I just don't understand why Spotify would destroy their brand image and screw over their customers like that. Guess it's time to revert back to music/podcast piracy.

[JayneWesterland]

I'm having this same problem, and came here to troubleshoot. I listen to an american podcast yet I hear canadian advertisements inserted by spotify. Not a part of the podcast itself. I noticed I CAN skip them, but it's a pain to do that. If I wanted to do that I would have the free version not premium.