Spotify Starts Cracking Down on Friends Who Share Family Plans (theverge.com) 94
Spotify is emailing some users on family plans asking for their GPS locations in order to confirm that they live in the same location. From a report: Subscribers who don't confirm their home address could lose access to their plan, according to the email. The move is an apparent attempt by Spotify to crack down on groups of friends who save money on individual subscriptions by sharing discounted plans intended for families. The emails, which have been sent to a limited number of "Premium for Family" subscribers in at least the US and Germany, have been received with scorn by some who rightly point out that not all families live together. However, Spotify's small print does say that the family plan is available for "you and up to five people who reside at your same address." The amount of people subscribed to family plans suggests not all of them abide by Spotify's definition.
Families who stay together... (Score:3, Insightful)
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so, you are only allowed to use Spotify at home? Never when "visiting" a friend?
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This is obviously impractical for people who live far away from you, which is exactly the point.
I am pretty sure those who share spotify accounts often live in the same city. So this will be a nuisance for many users, and won't even catch more than say, 10% of the violators.
Not counting that GPS position can be faked, and that you can use spotify on a PC without a GPS.
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There is this thing called big data analysis, and by looking at your location history it can determine if you are *always* somewhere else.
So? You are not allowed to be a workaholic? You are not allowed to turn off your smartphone at home? You are not allowed to use spotify on a device without a GPS? Or in a basement where GPS doesn't work? Or in a basement somewhere remote where there is no cell phone reception?
If you think there is a good way to prevent account sharing, you didn't think it through.
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Even better if you have a android device load a fake GPS app and select you're parents house. My daughter still has room at my house but she is in college ninety miles away. Kinda stupid really. When your subscribers start to peak you have to do something to increase profits.
Re:Families who stay together... (Score:5, Insightful)
But Spotify makes it very clear when you sign up what constitutes a family within the confines of their subscription model. The social construct of "family" isn't important. Just because you think your second cousin Kuala Lumpur should be able to share your plan doesn't make it so.
PS. Do you use that kind of language around your famliy? No wonder they don't want to live with you...
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But Spotify makes it very clear when you sign up what constitutes a family within the confines of their subscription model. The social construct of "family" isn't important. Just because you think your second cousin Kuala Lumpur should be able to share your plan doesn't make it so.
PS. Do you use that kind of language around your famliy? No wonder they don't want to live with you...
Amazing that such a thoughtful answer as your has yet to receive an "UP" vote.
You rightfully point out that some people feel they are entitled to stretch the subscription agreement, and then they scream like spoiled children when they get caught out.
Here's my own "UP" vote for you. +1
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Holy fuck, not the GP, but are you fucking serious?
Do you live under a rock with a bunch of fucking mormons who don't fucking swear? Are your panties on too tight? Or are you just a fucking moron?
Get the fuck over it, idiot.
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Let's make it simple. Cancel them and go elsewhere. That's the only way to get corporations to pay attention.
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If True, that is going to come as a surprise to most of the world. You're of voting age now, and no longer part of the family.
Immediate family has a strict definition. It usually refers to living under a single roof but can occasional make an exception for kids in college. It's the definition used for health insurance and most other "family membership plans". It sometimes is defined as dependants.
Other services use a variety of methods to reduce cheating. Things like sharing credit card information too, restricting shipping addresses, limiting the number of streams, or GPS. There are lots of ways to verify that someone is par
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Re: Families who stay together... (Score:4, Funny)
So would it be okay for roommates, or renters to share the plan?
Yes, as long as they reside at the same address.
Or one night stands?
Yes, but you have to cancel in the morning.
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Because sure, Spotify, every family always all lives in the same domicile. Kids never leave for college. What a fucking farce. If you don't want people sharing it with their FAMILY, don't call it a fucking family plan and then expect them to all live in the same domicile.
Regardless of your statements about the dictionary definition of a family, they are allowed to have a reasonable business model and a way to prevent people from cheating them.
If you don't like it, subscribe to one of the other streaming plans that let's you share your account with any number of random people. If you are one of the people that is targeted by this crackdown they are happy if you leave since you are costing them money.
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The more salient point is though is that, like most words, there is more than one known definition of "family." And they're using one of the traditional ones, such as is used in the phrase "single family home."
Here, it is synonymous with "household."
There is no ambiguity.
Also, if there was ambiguity, then nobody would be "cheating" them.
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IKR? Who would have thought that "family" didn't mean the 673 people you met in a Chinese piracy forum?
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Right next to the "Getting Started" button: Get Premium accounts for you and up to five people who reside at your same address. Terms & Conditions apply
Nothing farcical about it. I share my account with roommates completely unrelated to me. But since you're into social constructs my "bros" are far more of a family than my blood relatives.
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Because sure, Spotify, every family always all lives in the same domicile. Kids never leave for college.
What a fucking farce. If you don't want people sharing it with their FAMILY, don't call it a fucking family plan and then expect them to all live in the same domicile.
I'm pretty sure Apple Music doesn't pull that shit.
In fact, I don't even have an Apple Music Family Plan, and I use it on my Apple TV, my iPhone, my MacBook Pro, and my work Windows laptop, and have never ONCE been denied access or anything. I am using the same AppleID, and are never accessing it from more than one device at once; so maybe that's why it is working, even though the GPS location of my phone and laptops change, as does what network I am on; but FWIW, it DOES work...
IMHO, Spotify must be going
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Let's annoy our customers! (Score:5, Insightful)
We are hemorrhaging cash. What should we do?
Let's annoy our customers by taking away the lyrics feature!
-- Good one! What else?
Let's start requiring home addresses so we can sell their info to marketers.
-- Great! This is going to make people love us. We'll tell them we are going all Draconians on all family members have to have the same addresses. Screw their parents in the military and kids in college.
Re:Let's annoy our customers! (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's annoy our customers by taking away the lyrics feature!
-- Good one! What else?
I'm sure that saved them MILLIONS.
Let's start requiring home addresses so we can sell their info to marketers.
-- Great! This is going to make people love us. We'll tell them we are going all Draconians on all family members have to have the same addresses. Screw their parents in the military and kids in college.
Won't someone think of the children and our honored veterans?
We all know this isn't about taking away little Suzy's music while she's off at university in the next state over. It's about some people that are sharing their account with tens of their friends. If you like Pandora, you'd agree they need some way to fight this. If you don't like or use Pandora, then why are you here crying?
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If you like Pandora, you'd agree they need some way to fight this. If you don't like or use Pandora, then why are you here crying?
Because we don't want Spotify to change our plan? ;)
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Because we don't want Spotify to change our plan? ;)
Okay, let's try this again.
If you like Spotify, you'd agree they need some way to fight this, also.
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We are hemorrhaging cash. What should we do?
Let's annoy our customers by taking away the lyrics feature!
-- Good one! What else?
Let's start requiring home addresses so we can sell their info to marketers.
-- Great! This is going to make people love us. We'll tell them we are going all Draconians on all family members have to have the same addresses. Screw their parents in the military and kids in college.
Lyrics have separate copyright issues. Spotify never provided lyrics themselves. They used to have a partnership with a company so that they could just give your metadata to that company behind the scenes, and show the lyrics in their app. But they were not the ones who licensed it. Then they ended that partnership; you can still get the exact same lyrics from the exact same company by installing both apps. The other app can show the lyrics for the song that is playing in spotify. I don't know how much it c
Simple solution ... (Score:3)
.. just charge a flat rate per stream.
Want to share your stream with 20 people OK, you get billed 20x that month.
Share it with 4 others (family), OK, you get charged 5x that month.
This isn't rocket science. More like a cash grab after "Oh shit, our bandwidth costs are higher then we expected and these expenses are cutting into our profits."
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this could work, except that too many people would complain that they forgot spotify running all night with their speaker off. A lot of people probably leave it on like a radio. Also there is a too large variation in usage between users. Some use it only 5 minutes / week and others 24/7. So if one is billed 1$, the other one must be billed $500/month or more.
Re:Simple solution ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Man.. have not looked at their financials but i'd wager the bandwidth and overall 'tech' costs are a complete joke compared the licensing fees they get whacked with by the RIAA and their ilk.
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It's kind of hard to have much sympathy with the people getting butthurt over this. Spotify offer a discounted plan for students, and a discounted plan for households, it's hardly suprising that they would try and limit people from getting these discounts if they aren't eligible for them.
ROFL already gave in (Score:2, Informative)
Quitters!
https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/28/spotify-ends-test-that-required-family-plan-subscribers-to-share-their-gps-location/?yptr=yahoo
Rule of Law (Score:2)
In other news, Serta and Tempurpedic are planning a nationwide crackdown on criminals who tear the labels off their mattresses. Something has to be done about this rampant lawlessness.
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That's just what the Deep State wants you to believe. Then, the next thing you know, you're in some FEMA camp with other label-removing patriots, turning big rocks into little rocks.
Itâ(TM)s the website that bothers me (Score:2, Insightful)
I got the email and have refused to fill in the form so far because they send you to a non-SSL form asking you to send the data. That alone makes it look like a phishing attempt.
I've had the opposite elsewhere (Score:2, Informative)
Companies are really dumb when it comes to families. When I moved out decades ago, the cable company was offering new users of the service two free cable boxes for subscribing for a year. I took them up on the offer. They sent me a bill for $798 for the boxes. I called them up and they said I had already had the service several years ago. Doubt it, this is my first place.
Turns out my parents had subscribed 10 years ago. Apparently emancipation means nothing to Look Communications. Sent a letter to th
Household, not Family Plan (Score:2)
Badly named, but that is not the problem.
The problem is something called FakeGPSFree, which lets you set your GPS to whatever you want.
Or in other words, reclaim the privacy from people that try to steal it from you.
Spotify etc. do not have a right to your location or other information, have no business taking it, and they can't stop you from giving them false information.
The problem was the concept itself. It should not exist. You want a Family/Household plan? Let one person pay for everyone. That is
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Sounds like a market for the "Family VPN" (Score:2)
Just setup a vpn to the address you supply and proxy the connection out there. Everyone is happy!!
Go back to broadcast radio (Score:3)
No shortage of streaming services (Score:2)
We're all family (Score:2)
We're all cousins, some of us may be 10th cousins though.