The sexually explicit videos, which Spotify doesn’t allow, have shown up alongside some of the most popular podcasts on the service

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Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.20-181313/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-03-20/porn-on-spotify-is-infiltrating-the-streaming-service-s-top-podcast-charts

These programs don’t contain video but are sexually explicit with show or episode titles often marked by the creator as “NSFW,” or “not safe for work.” The creators sometimes instruct their fans to rate the content poorly on purpose so that Spotify doesn’t detect it. They also sometimes ask listeners not to report the shows if they don’t like what they’re hearing or seeing. When I reached out, Spotify also removed these programs for violating the platform’s terms of use.

Sexually explicit material has persisted on Spotify for years, but the issue resurfaced in December when a Reddit user noticed the service’s algorithm recommending porn. Some users on the videos I spotted this week also commented. Why, they wondered, were they being served this content when searching for music?

  • Wahots@pawb.social
    2·
    13 hours ago

    Okay, glad I’m not the only one who noticed strange omegaverse podcasts on Spotify.

  • jamie_oliver@beehaw.org
    4·
    17 hours ago

    I found one selling benzos the other day, honestly insane that they aren’t moderating this because it wasn’t even slightly obscured…

    Like I know you can buh drugs on literally any platform, but a music streaming service? Feels too far.

  • shirro@aussie.zoneEnglish
    33·
    2 days ago

    The tech sector has a massive diversity problem. Lots of young men raised with one hand on their dick watching porn while reading libertarian propaganda. I get why vulture capitalists want naive, manipulable children running their businesses but I wish real adults were in charge.

    I have left multiple platforms that don’t offer parental controls, family sharing etc. Fortunately better alternatives exist to all these platforms.

    As a older man and father I think these people are pathetic little children and I avoid shitty commercial social media in my house and around my family. Unfortunately they are still having a devastating impact on society.

    • megopie@beehaw.org
      2·
      15 hours ago

      but think of the shareholders! How would they feel if the company stoped growing? They need to cram their attempt at an audio content monopoly down your throat or else they’d only just be a music streaming monopoly.

      • monarch@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        7 hours ago

        I use the web player since I like listening to podcasts while I play games and antena pod doesn’t have one

      • GreyBeard
        5·
        1 day ago

        I replaced pocketcast with Antennapod a year or so ago. It took some time to adjust, but I’m quite satisified with it now. I feel like I’m slowly converting over at an F-Droid stack on my phone. About all I have left from the Play store are streaming apps and banking apps. I should look into replacing the banking apps with PWAs.

      • cabinet_sanchez@midwest.socialEnglish
        3·
        1 day ago

        Yeah, I know, that would be even better. I know these platforms screw artists, but having worked in or peripherally to these businesses, I have a hard time with piracy (not that I didn’t Napster in my day)

        Edit: physical media?

        • dumblederp@aussie.zone
          3·
          1 day ago

          Physical media requires the space to store it. I’m not against buying stuff on bandcamp et al, but I’m sticking with digital raid storage.

    • misk@sopuli.xyzOP
      3·
      2 days ago

      If you know of a different archival service that’s popular enough to carry this kind of content then I’m open to suggestions. By the time I post this stuff archive.is already has a copy but other ones I check don’t.

        • misk@sopuli.xyzOP
          3·
          1 day ago

          It’s still a bit hit or miss at the time I’m posting stuff. If I submit news for archival I’m getting an archive of a paywall very often. It happens with archive.is too but not that frequently.

          I’m putting this for everyone’s convenience but I also don’t want to make a job for myself out of this.

          • Pete Hahnloser@beehaw.orgEnglish
            5·
            1 day ago

            That’s fair. Posting the original source and letting the rest of us figure out how to get to the story with our own methods is perfectly fine.