• Spotify has denied rumors that it's bringing ads to its Premium tier
• The platform shared a post on X to confirm the rumors are false after users were speculating online
• Other services such as Netflix have introduced cheaper subscription tiers with ads, so could Spotify follow suit?

If you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber, allow yourself to rejoice in the good news I’m about to share as the platform has officially shut down the rumors that it’s bringing ads to its Premium tier.

Spotify debunked the speculation in a post on X (formerly Twitter), addressing the online rumor and explicitly stating that this is in fact ‘false’ and that its Premium tier will ‘remain ad-free’.

The platform then doubled down by relying on its own post repeating ‘This rumor is false. Premium music listening is ad-free,’ with the exception of podcasts. But where did these rumors start?

In February, many Spotify Premium users took to Spotify’s Community forum after noticing an odd bug that was showing ads in the service’s ad-free tier. It took Spotify a few weeks later to finally fix the bug - for now, at least. However, it still wasn’t enough to reassure its subscribers that Premium would remain completely ad-free.

Since Spotify fixed the bug there have been no further reports or complaints about any recurrences, but it hasn’t stopped Premium users from latching onto this conspiracy

Although Spotify has worked hard to gain its status as one of the best music streaming services, it has the tendency to flop in certain aspects. For some, this is more than just a simple ‘off day’.

Is Spotify shaking up its subscription tier structure?

It doesn’t take an avid Spotify listener to see that the platform is going through some rough patches - we all know that I’m talking about the possible, yet impossible, arrival of a Spotify HiFi tier.

Music platforms aside, it’s become common practice for the best streaming services to introduce more affordable subscription plans that feature ads in between movies and shows - Netflix, Prime Video, that’s you guys

So as a subscriber to both types of entertainment platforms, I’m asking myself the question; could a similar tier soon be applied to music streaming?

The recent ads in the Premium bug don’t help this speculation. Now that Spotify HiFi is slated to launch late this year, I’m not ruling out the possibility of a subscription tier shake-up which could see Spotify follow the steps of Netflix and introduce a cheaper tier with ads. But even then, surely Spotify would have to eradicate its free tier altogether?

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