I don’t know when this started but I noticed it for the first time a few months ago. Some podcasts will have preroll ads that are obviously tailored to me since they are not in the same language as the podcast, instead they are in my native language and if I connect to a VPN in another country the ad will change to one from that country. They also seem to appear regardless of podcast app. I have used both AntennaPod and Spotify. AntennaPod is free so I guess they source their podcasts from some third party website that could be adding in the ads. But since I am paying for Spotify I am expecting not to have to listen to any ads. So who is adding in these ads? Can I get rid of them or am I just stuck with them?
I don’t listen to podcasts but to answer this question
Companies are forced to increase revenue every year. It means the amount of crap will just keep on increasing.
Ong, first they eliminate the competition and then they start going for profit, which always goes hand in hand with enshitification, for the very simple reason that if there was something they could add to increase profits and user satisfaction at the same time, they would’ve already added it.
They are not trying to make the app work for the user but against him, to take his data, privacy, attention, money etc.
Oh absolutely. I understand that. But is Spotify even the one who is adding/profiting from the ads? I seems like this is coming from someone else since the ads are also on AntennaPod
The ads are put in by whoever makes the podcast.
Sure they decide that the ad should exist, but how? When I see a mid-roll ad on YouTube for example it was put there by the person who uploaded the video but the content of the ad is delivered by youtube. Who is delivering the content of these ads?
The podcast company that makes the podcast.
When they make it, they put in an <advertising tag> in the locations during the podcast they want the advertising to be, then they sell the advertising space. If there is no local advert, it skips, if there is one, it pulls and plays that.
Corporations need to make profit somehow. I wouldn’t be surprised if in a year or two Spotify would introduce payed plan with ads.
Blaming Spotify for this is like blaming the company that made your TV for showing you ads that are part of the broadcast. Unless Spotify makes the specific podcast you’re listening to, they’re just playing you the content someone else made, including the ads they included in that content.
“Forced”
This doesn’t affect non-profit companies, who legally cannot have anyone who takes profits away from the company.
For profit companies should be illegal