Spotify could soon allow users of its Free service to skip all advertisements, judging by recent tests.
Spotify Australia is currently testing a feature called ‘Active Media’, which enables non-paying customers to push past all of the advertisements that have traditionally funded their ability to stream music.
As of right now, Spotify Free users must endure an audio or video advertisement for every 30 minutes of music they enjoy. However, should Spotify test this feature more widely, the Free service will verge closer to the Premium ad-free service.
That’s unlikely to go over well with users paying £10 a month for ad-free access to music. It may actually convince them the limitations of the Free service are actually worth tolerating in order to save the subscription fee.
Spotify says the move is designed to improve its ad-targeting business and serve users with content they’re actually interested in. Daniel Lee, the global head of partner solutions at Spotify, even compares it to the firm’s Discover Weekly playlists.
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“Our hypothesis is if we can use this to fuel our streaming intelligence, and deliver a more personalized experience and a more engaging audience to our advertisers, it will improve the outcomes that we can deliver for brands,” Lee told AdAge in an interview.
“Just as we create these personalized experiences like Discover Weekly, and the magic that brings to our consumers, we want to inject that concept into the advertising experience.”
If Spotify believes the testing of this new feature is successful, it’s likely that Brits will have the ability to skip those ads before too much longer.
Are you a Spotify Premium subscriber upset by the possibility of Free users being able to skip ads? Or will you hand over the £10 a month regardless? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
