Ahead of direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange, music streaming service Spotify is cracking down on people using apps that circumvent the premium-locked features.
Giving the benefit of the doubt, the email states Spotify has noticed “abnormal activity” and therefore disabled the user’s account. The solution is to remove any unauthorized or modified versions of the app and use the bonafide version.
Spotify recently filed an F-1 form with the SEC to direct list shares on the NYSE, which contained a host of financial information about the company. Though it has a large subscriber base, less than half are premium users and not every registered premium user pays, as some are attached to family accounts. There are no mentions of unauthorized apps in the filing as threats, but obviously enough accounts are illegally circumventing Spotify’s controls to merit this email.
One known loophole app was named Dogfood, which has since been taken down along with a few forks by DMCA from Github. There are still, however, other apps out there, and as long as Spotify still sees activity with a user account on them after receiving this email they “reserve all rights, including suspending or terminating” accounts.
Some users on reddit are reporting that their hacked accounts are still working, but others claim that they have no access and are seeking alternatives. The obvious alternative is to pay for the service or simply use the free version.
See the whole email below:
