Spotify tests "Skip ahead" button letting Premium users skip podcast ads

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TL;DR

A new Spotify experiment allows users to skip ads placed between podcast episodes using a dedicated “Skip ahead” button.

This feature is currently available to some Premium subscribers in the US and UK.

If widely implemented, the Skip ahead button poses significant risks to creators’ revenue, as brands may be less willing to collaborate with them.

Audio streaming service Spotify includes ads on its free tier, while Premium subscribers get no ads. However, the story is different for podcasts, where creators can place ads at varying intervals that are beyond Spotify’s control. Well, the music streaming app is now testing a feature that could change that.

Reporting by the folks at Podnews reveals an experiment that lets Spotify users skip ads in podcasts. Known simply as “Skip ahead,” this pill-shaped key sits to the right of the Chapters button just above the podcast title. Right now, it apparently takes a couple of seconds to respond, likely because it’s still an experimental feature (via The Verge ).