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Spotify cautioning users of hacked apps

By | Published on Tuesday 6 March 2018

Spotify

Spotify is seemingly cracking down on people using hacked versions of its app that allow stingy old freemium users to get some of the functionality that is usually reserved for super-tastic premium subscribers.

The free version of Spotify comes with ads and limited functionality, especially on mobile, in a deliberate bid to upsell premium subscriptions, which is where the streaming service and the music industry really makes its money. The idea is that freemium users go “Oh the annoying ads! Oh the limited functionality! Fuck it, have ten pounds, there’s this great playlist of top Bulgarian tunes I want to listen to offline without interruption”.

But instead some sneaky gits go “Oh the annoying ads! Oh the limited functionality! There’s this great playlist of top Bulgarian tunes I want to listen to offline without interruption. I’m going to see if there’s a way to get that without paying any money”.

To that end, Torrentfreak noticed yesterday, Spotify is now sending messages to people it thinks maybe accessing its service via a hacked app stating that “abnormal activity” has been spotted, and that that could result in a user’s account being suspended or terminated. The streaming service has confirmed that it is indeed sending out such messages, though it’s not clear how many have gone out so far.

Although Spotify was keen to talk up the potential of its ad-funded free service, which boasts more users, in its SEC filing last week ahead of its listing on the New York Stock Exchange, the vast majority of revenues generated by the streaming business come from paying users. Therefore many in the music industry see free streaming as a necessary evil to sign-up people to the more lucrative premium services.



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