Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Tl;
- Spotify forbids formally sexually explicit material.
- Despite the pornographic sound, has long been a podcast problem.
- It has been joined by an increasing amount of explicit video, now that Spotify supports video podcasts.
The time was, Listening to a podcast meant downloading an audio recording to the iPod. These days, podcasts are not only available on virtually all devices under the sun, but they are no longer limited to sound formats, with many popular creators who have switched to video. And although we have access to more podcasts than ever, the changing definition has also made it easier for non-podcast content to masked as such. That’s exactly what seems to happen on Spotify right now, as users complain about Pornographic and adult content invading their podcasts.
A report last week from Bloom Highlighting the increasing problem, where roughly packed loading from Pornhub appears in Spotify’s top podcast charts next to mainstream entries (via Android -Police). The platform’s embrace of video eventually opened the doors for this to happen, although Spotify specifically prohibits sexually explicit material. Beyond video, there has also been an increase in explicit sound recording, and although at least it feels a little more up to Spotify’s alley, it is in the same way prohibited and removed when the service notices it.
How often it actually happens may not be as frequent as it should be, and Bloom Reports on the length Some of these creators go to the interest in staying under the radar-as to encourage low rankings to avoid top podcast diagrams.
Although the kind of explicit sound is not exactly a new arrival in Spotify, it seems that the service’s algorithms can promote it much more in recent months, and are exposing more and more subscribers to its presence. And it is likely that finally acts as a feedback loop, with increased viewership that only serves to drive further recommendations.
Bloom Questions about payment incentives for video content may be unintentionally promoting this trend. It is something that very much will be in Spotify’s control to do something about, but that will require the right balance with video programs.
Have you cast on any unexpected porn on Spotify? Is there anything you feel gets worse? Share your observations with us in the comments.