this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2023
95 points (100.0% liked)
Technology
37608 readers
234 users here now
A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.
Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.
Subcommunities on Beehaw:
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Pretty sure the only ads on spotify podcasts are the ones built in to the podcast recording, like the audio file includes the ads
At least i never get any ads from spotify listening to podcasts, unless the people doing the podcast have ads
I don't listen to podcasts, although you are correct that many podcasters are paid to promote products, which is itself a form of advertising.
I'm talking about the shelf that appears on my homescreen that is used to promote podcasts, which is also a form of advertising , aka an ad
Ah i see. Idk if i'd call that an ad any more than any other recommended playlist or album on the home page being called an ad
You may not call it an ad, but that's what it is
They are using it to promote a product
I wish I could turn off all the algorithmic recommendations tbh. It's all an intrusive form of advertising, but I especially resent having podcasts shoved at me in my music app.
Well yeah, reflecting on what you're saying i think any recommendation on the home page is an ad. But I agree the podcasts are more intrusive, especially if you never listen to them.
Why don't you just stick to the search or library tab if you don't want the recommendations on the home page? Ideally they'd have an option to set the default tab, but if you don't want any recommendations they're pretty easy to avoid
Oh my gods, are you joking? When I launch the app on my android device, it defaults to the homepage. I've actually contacted Spotify about this and there is no way to change this, so in what fictional fantasy world are you living that I can "just stick to the search or library tab" when literally launching the app defaults to the homescreen? Am I talking to a bot?
Oh sure, let me use uBlock Origin to just zap all these shelves. Oh wait, now I can't see any albums.
I'm not talking out my ass here, so I'd appreciate it if you just let me vent about how shitty Spotify is with their crappy features that are unable to be customized in any way. Why not? BECAUSE THEY ARE USING IT TO ADVERTISE, EVEN THOUGH I'M PAYING A SUBSCRIPTION. I DO NOT want ads, no shelves, no recommendations, no algorithm, and honestly? Maybe I just don't want Spotify. They don't even pay artists that much anyway, so I could just as well pirate like I do for movies and shows ever since Netflix went wack.
Sorry, I didn't realize you were just trying to vent. I agree that they should have some kind of option to default to a different tab, or some better solution. They do a lot of shitty and annoying stuff as a company. But also, it's not really a fictional world to just stick to those tabs, it's more like an extra tap once the app opens. You might even be able to set up a tasker thing or something like smart autoclicker on fdroid to immediately switch tabs as soon as the app opens
Yeah sorry for coming on strong, but I've got a lot of resentment for Spotify. It was good, but it's becoming enshittified along with everything else.
Honestly, there are alternatives that don't require a subscription at all. Most of them don't allow local downloading, which used to be inconvenient, but now we have unlimited mobile data, so it would be so easy to switch.
For the record, I like supporting artists, which is why I do buy physical media from independent record labels and the like, which is a much better way to support them than Spotify.
The tasker idea is worth researching, though. I'll look into it. At the end of the day, it would be really nice if I didn't feel compelled to switch. I've put a lot of time and effort into my playlists.
Do you have any recommendations for alternatives? I remember looking into it a bit ago and not really finding one I liked, but would be interested in making a switch. EDIT: on iOS, if that matters
I think iOS has significantly fewer alternatives than Android since (correct me if I'm wrong but) I think you are limited to the Apple Store. You could look into some of these.
Android has apps like Spotube, which has all the essential features of Spotify for free, or even LibreTube or NewPipe can be used as music apps.
I saw someone comment on reddit a couple months ago that Apple may start allowing side-loading apps. That would open up a lot of doors, and I hope it's accurate, though who knows if the user was correct.
Thanks for the reply! Yeah I do a lot of listening on my work phone (the iOS one), might just need to settle for doing more media playing on my old Android.
Y'know what? That's actually something I should do as well. I have a Galaxy S8 that is no longer in service but would work perfect well as a dedicated media player, and then I wouldn't have my listening interrupted by email and text notifications.
afaik, podcasts can choose to have ads (I don't mean sponsorships) enabled. most podcasts I listen to have sponsorships, but for example the lateral podcast from tom scott actually has 'real' ads in it, even with premium.