A Spotify user has sparked discussion after learning the hard way about the limitations of Premium’s audiobook offerings.
In the clip, which has amassed 848,400 views as of Saturday, Ansley (@tiny_tobasco) explained why she was “peeved” about the situation.
“I pay for Premium, OK?” she began.“Every single month, a little amount comes out of my account so that I can listen to things ad free. You’d that means there’s no limitations. [But] there are, and I did not know this.”
She then went on to explain how she delved deep into “the weeds” of this audiobook but found that it came to an “abrupt end” mid-sentence.
“I go back to my app,” she continued. “I click ‘Play,’ I think it’s maybe just a glitch, I push ‘Play’ again. Nothing happens. Instead, an alert pops up on my phone in front of my Spotify Premium and it says ‘You’ve run out of book credits’.You cannot top these up, instead they will refresh in two days.”
Disappointed in this turn of events, she was left full of questions.
“Why?” she asked, “Who decided that? Who decided to take the joy that I had and squish it into a little tinfoil ball and chucking it my forehead?”
@tiny_tobasco @Spotify ♬ original sound – Ansley
The worst part for Ansley is that she was at the best part of the book.
“You know I’m not gonna go to the store, buy a copy of that book just so I can flip to the exact spot that I was in the audiobook,” she added.
Spotify users are unhappy
Ansley ended with an appeal to Spotify, urging the company to reconsider.
In an emailed statement to the Daily Dot, she said, “For a premium service advertised as premium it feels silly to continue to find ways to make users pay more/compromise their listening experience. Also… some audiobooks are listed but completely locked unless you make a third party purchase. It just seems like one money grab after another after Spotify has already increased its prices.”
In the comments section, users were similarly unimpressed.
“I’VE BEEN SAYING, HOW IS THIS PREMIUM?” one put.
“Spotify is a JOKE with audiobooks,” another declared.
While a third revealed, “This is why I don’y have Spotify anymore.”
Spotify didn’t immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment via contact form.
So, clearly, Ansley isn’t the only person to share their rage at Spotify. In fact, by large, audiobook fans seem to be unhappy with this arrangement. One Redditor said they were “furious” with the system, while several have shared their frustrations on TikTok.
“Why didn’t they tell me that I was on the basic audiobook plan?” one asked. “I don’t like the fact that they’re being unclear about things.”
While another went viral after saying she felt “tricked” by the audio streaming service.
At the time, a Spotify spokesperson spoke on the phone with Daily Dot. According to this spokesperson, users have the option to add more audiobook hours directly within the Spotify app. They then went on to clarify that there are methods to track hours detailed on the Spotify website, and that generally, the 15 hours customers get free with premium equates to two audiobooks. So at least there’s something of a silver lining.
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