I can’t afford premium but they sometimes bombard me with ads other times it’s reasonable. Doesn’t seem to be the time of day.

  • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
    13·
    10 hours ago

    I don’t know, but if I had to guess, I would say they probably have an algorithm that tells them what time of day people are most likely to buy premium. Like, they want you hooked so they play fewer ads while you’re going to sleep or riding the bus, and you get comfortable with how convenient it all is. But then, you want to play a song for a friend or queue up a playlist for a party, and the AI recognizes that behavior and puts an ad between every song. It’s frustrating and embarrassing and gets you thinking about why don’t you just give them some money already.

    I don’t know that they do this. I know that they can do this, and I know that they would do this.

    • dustyData@lemmy.world
      2·
      1 hour ago

      It doesn’t have to be that sophisticated. Random ad frequency is good enough to push people to buy and it is very effective.

      • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
        8·
        9 hours ago

        That’s the beauty of the algorithm. It’s not just time of day, but what you’re doing and where you are. Look for other common threads, like anytime you’re near a gym, or if you’re browsing an online store. Assume they know literally everything about you in the moment.

        Of course, there are other plausible explanations. Maybe you are sometimes connected to wifi with a pihole that blocks the ads? Maybe your cellular connection is spotty and the app is compensating with music already on your device? Maybe there’s a quota that they are supposed to hit, and any blocked ads are queued up for later until you connect again? Like I said, I don’t know what’s causing it.