A friend of mine recently got Spotify (free account). He didn’t upgrade to Premium or use the free trial, but despite using the free version, he still has yet to receive an ad.
Of course, he’s not complaining or anything (he’s happy that he hasn’t had to deal with obnoxious Spotify ads yet), but it’s definitely confusing as to why this is happening.
Has this also happened to you? If so, you should be happy because you’re one of the lucky few people. Here are several reasons why you’re not getting ads on Spotify Free.
Your Spotify account is brand new
If you’re not getting ads on Spotify’s free version, it could be that your account is brand new. According to Spotify, the ads algorithm might not be showing you ads for a week or so.
It’s no secret that Spotify ads are not only loud but also annoying, so I think Spotify doesn’t want to barrage new users with ads that might deter them from using the music platform.
I have a theory that the longer you use Spotify Free the more ads you’ll get. I’ve been using it for over a year and a half, I now get three 30-second ads every three songs or so.
I think Spotify would want to convert as many free users as possible, especially if they’ve been using their music streaming service religiously for a long time.
You upgraded to Premium by mistake
Another possibility is that you’ve upgraded to Premium by mistake. Just to be safe, please visit your account overview page and check the current subscription status of your account.
Furthermore, you can also use this help page to locate all of your Spotify accounts, making sure you haven’t created one by mistake to prevent any unexpected charges.
You’ve been given Premium benefits by random
If you’re not getting ads on Spotify’s free version, then you could be one of the lucky few people who were given Premium benefits, which are handed out randomly.
According to a poll run by Android Authority, 27% of their readers were able to enjoy Premium benefits, such as choosing and skipping songs without limit, even with the free Spotify version.
Here’s a story by one lucky Spotify free user:
“I’ve had my Spotify account for over 5 years and I just got my first ad today. It also has unlimited skips too. Idk why because I’m not premium or anything and I’m from the US so it should be central. It’s been a running joke with me and my family because my family has had ads but I finally got an ad today. My good luck is now over.”
– Jonathan
You’ll find similar stories across the web, especially on forums like Reddit and Quora.
My guess is that you have been given some sort of “demo” at random. I think this is one of Spotify’s methods to convert more free users into Premium subscribers.
I’m assuming this is some sort of promotion made by Spotify without telling anyone about it. Whatever the reason might be, you should be happy not to receive ads.
You’re using an Adblocker and/or VPN
Are you using an adblocker or a VPN? If so, it could interfere with the ads being served to you on Spotify. Disable all of them and you should start to see ads at some point.
You haven’t used your Spotify account for some time
Have you been using Spotify recently? If not, then you might not get ads even on the free version. I’ve touched upon earlier in the article that new users won’t get ads.
Since you haven’t used the Spotify app in a while, the ads algorithm might not be showing you ads for a week or so, much like on a brand-new account.
After using Spotify for a couple of weeks on your devices, ads should start to appear.
You’re listening to obscure music
I can’t say for sure, but I find the amount of ads varies a lot depending on the type of music or artist. Basically, the more popular the song you’re listening to, the more ads you’ll get.
On the other hand, the more obscure the music, the fewer ads you’ll get. I think it’s part of the way Spotify sells its ads or the algorithm that decides who to target the ads to.
Do you only listen to obscure music? If so, you might get fewer ads.
You’re not the advertiser’s target
It’s possible that Spotify is serving you fewer ads due to its ad targeting algorithms, which take into account many factors such as your listening history, location, and demographic information.
Maybe, your unique taste in music as well as your age is not part of the advertiser’s target market, which is why there are fewer ads available to be served to you at the moment.
You probably didn’t notice the ad
Last but not least, you probably didn’t notice the ad.
I often multitask while listening to music so I don’t give 100% attention to Spotify. This means I no longer realized an ad when it was playing in the background.
In the beginning, I would lose concentration when an ad played (since it’s noisy) but over time, my brain just stopped paying attention when an ad was playing.
The same thing might have happened to you. Chances are, you’ve been getting ads on Spotify Free but you probably have been ignoring them.
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