Spotify just made a rare statement responding to an explosive new rumor

Summary

Spotify has debunked rumors of ads being added to its Premium subscription service.
In February, some Spotify Premium members encountered a bug where they inadvertently experienced ads.
While Spotify denied rumors about ads coming to Premium, it hasn’t commented on or denied rumors about Spotify Music Pro, a higher priced Premium tier potentially coming soon.

It’s not often that a major tech company responds to rumors circulating online, but it appears this particular rumor about Spotify was getting under the music streaming giant’s skin.

Spotify recently took to social media to debunk a rumor suggesting that Spotify Premium, its paid subscription service, will soon start including unskippable ads. The company has categorically denied this rumor as “false,” asserting that “Premium music listening is and will remain ad-free.”

One of the biggest selling points of Spotify Premium, which costs $12 a month, is its ad-free listening experience. If the company were to suddenly change course, it would likely stir up quite a controversy. You might be wondering what prompted Spotify to make a public statement about this? Well, it all had to do with a recent bug.

Spotify

Premium Subscription: $12 per month
Free trial: Yes
Ad plans: Free with advertisements

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A glitch caused ads on Premium for some users

It took Spotify a month to fix the issue

Initially, rumors about Spotify suddenly introducing ads into Premium were sparked by a bug users began experiencing in February. This bug caused Premium members to encounter ads in certain circumstances, despite paying for ad-free listening. Many users took to the Spotify Community forum to voice their complaints about the issue.

Pocket-lint reported on this situation in February, highlighting one user who wrote on the Spotify Community forums: “I get ads on Spotify with premium in between podcast episodes. It’s happened on my Samsung S22 and Pixel 7. If I skip it it just serves another, I don’t pay $250 a year to listen to ads.”

While this issue did not affect every Spotify user, it was widespread enough for conspiracy theories to emerge, suggesting that this bug was actually a test for future ads on Spotify Premium

After a month of users encountering issues and 94 pages of forum posts later, Spotify finally confirmed on March 6 that the problem was resolved and thanked users for their patience during the investigation of the bug. While this issue did not affect every Spotify user, it was widespread enough for conspiracy theories to emerge, suggesting that this bug was actually a test for future ads on Spotify Premium.

Posts about the possibility of Spotify Premium incorporating ads began circulating on X and TikTok, gaining traction. This is likely the reason why Spotify firmly denied any rumors about Premium getting ads. However, there are still rumors that Spotify will finally launch its more expensive Hi-Fi Premium tier soon, which the streaming giant hasn’t commented on or denied.

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Spotify could be adding a Music Pro tier

Higher quality audio, but at a higher cost

Spotify sound equalizer setting — Pocket-lint / Spotify

Pocket-lint / Spotify

While Spotify’s current Premium music tier will likely remain unchanged for some time, a higher-priced Hi-Fi option could still be on the horizon for the music streaming giant. In 2021, the company announced Spotify Hi-Fi, an upgrade to its Premium music listening service, but four years later, it has yet to materialize.

In February, Bloomberg reported that a source claimed the company was developing a new Premium tier called “Music Pro,” which could offer users additional benefits such as early access to concert tickets and an AI remix feature that allows subscribers to “mix together songs from different artists.”

Music Pro could cost an additional $6 a month on top of Spotify Premium, bringing the total to $18 a month.

The standout feature of Music Pro may finally be Spotify Hi-Fi, meaning subscribers could gain access to higher-quality audio thanks to lossless audio support, enabling them to listen to songs at CD-quality, with a higher bitrate of 1411kbps (16 bit/44.1 kHz). Music Pro could cost an additional $6 a month on top of Spotify Premium, bringing the total to $18 a month.

Spotify Music Pro could launch “later this year.” While Spotify denied rumors of Premium incorporating ads, its more expensive Premium add-on could be arriving soon.