AfterDawn: News

Spotify angers potential subscribers by requiring Facebook account

A new requirement to sign up through a Facebook account isn't sitting well with a number of potential Spotify users.

What has probably made the situation much worse for Spotify is their tone deaf response. CEO and founder Daniel Ek responded to criticism on Twitter yesterday by tweeting, "We want to remove barrier to sign-up and create a more seamless experience. As we think our users are social."



An official statement from Spotify says:

To us, this integration is all about creating an amazing new world of music discovery. As most of our users are already social and have already connected to Facebook, it seemed logical to integrate Spotify and Facebook logins. We already use Facebook as part of our backend to power our social features and by adopting Facebook?s login, we've created a simple and seamless social experience.

The problem is, that doesn't actually address the concerns of people who neither have nor want a Facebook account. Adding an option to sign up using a Facebook login makes signing up easier.

Requiring someone who doesn't have a Facebook account to create one and then manage privacy settings, including keeping up with any changes Facebook makes, puts up a barrier. Dismissing their concerns about Facebook is the opposite of addressing the issue.

To his credit, a second tweet from Ek conveyed a more sympathetic tone, saying, "We'll try lots of things, and probably screw up from time to time, but we value feedback and will make changes based on it."

Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 27 Sep 2011 14:22

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• 15 comments

• Mysttic

  Quote:"We'll try lots of things, and probably screw up from time to time, but we value feedback and will make changes based on it." Well all that' said and good, but I strongly suggest you no longer make facebook a priority.

  27.9.2011 14:25 #1

• vert

  sorry spotify. its too late. it isnt about you screwing up from time to time, its about you seeing how far you can push people. I no longer have an interest in your apllication and will advise everyone i know to find something different.

  27.9.2011 16:19 #2

• ivymike

  It only took a week from initial signup for me to get an invite code...Just sayin'.

  27.9.2011 19:59 #3

• v62cobra

  Spotify is bla! I got the invite, used the service, and not interested. I like slacker and pandora much more. I couldn't even find some metal tracks that I wanted on Spotify, but no problem on Pandora. As far as Facebook. Never used it, never will. Social networking is just dumb. If you have the time to just sit there and type bs, then go get a job or go learn a trade. Facebook just leads to people doing nothing because if you really had to get the message to someone you have: phone,texting,email, go to them, carrier pigeons, mail, etc. Facebook just seems like a dumb medium to get in touch so no thanks.

  28.9.2011 10:05 #4

• editmon

  Linking your business to what I fondly refer to as "A$$Book" doesn't help your cause.

  30.9.2011 11:02 #5

• bogwart16

  More and more companies outside the mainstream industry are requiring a Facebook account now, and it's a poor move on their part because that's my business gone. I would rather eat live cockroaches than take part in that mindless junk facility.
  

  We once had a empire and it was led by an emperor then we had a kingdom which was led by a king. Now we have a country.

  30.9.2011 11:07 #6

• DADEO1

  Spotify seems alright, but Facebook, no effin way.

  30.9.2011 11:48 #7

• Mez

  As if anyone that is social ought to have a facebook account.

  30.9.2011 12:47 #8

• casurratt

  Wow, this world is full of nothing but a bunch of whiny little b****es. If you don't like Spotify, DON'T USE IT. If you don't like Facebook, DON'T USE IT. It's SO simple, but all anyone wants to do these days is whine and complain about how inconvenient the world is for them when we have running water and food everywhere we go.
  

  30.9.2011 13:37 #9

• bogwart16

  Originally posted by casurratt: Wow, this world is full of nothing but a bunch of whiny little b****es. If you don't like Spotify, DON'T USE IT. If you don't like Facebook, DON'T USE IT. It's SO simple, but all anyone wants to do these days is whine and complain about how inconvenient the world is for them when we have running water and food everywhere we go. You're mising the point. I think possibly we've all worked out by now that Spotify and Facebook have business plans of their own, and naturally it is their choice whether they want to insist on a linkage before one can use Spotify.
  
  There's a big difference between that and an imperative that you must use one to access the other. These things should be options.
  
  Many companies these days, for instance, have a condition in the ads they run for free samples that you must "like" them on Facebook. That is wrong - I spent all my life in marketing and I would never have suggested a condition like that to a client, because the excluded people will get pissed off with the product.
  
  Who do you think you are to call people who, perfectly reasonably, don't wish to sign up to what is a very iffy service, insulting names?
  
  You sound American. If that is the case you may like to reflect that millions of people are without running water and food everywhere they go.
  

  We once had a empire and it was led by an emperor then we had a kingdom which was led by a king. Now we have a country.

  30.9.2011 13:51 #10

• casurratt

  Unfortunately, yes, I was born in this country. I'll start by replying to your last part. DUH. That's what I was saying; that too many people whine about the things that they have when so many have so little. I understand the point of why people get upset by it, but even still, Spotify isn't the only option out there. Even if they have their own business plans, it's going to happen whether we like it or not. Therefore, if you don't like one or the other, don't participate
  

  30.9.2011 13:55 #11

• bogwart16

  I know where you are coming from, but it is still rather OTT to call people whiners because they disagree with a company's policy. People who disagree with a company's policy have a right to say so, and it often changes a company's plans if there is too much resistance.
  
  Amazon Fire is the latest example of really lousy marketing, with a web-tracking capability that is more intrusive than that of Phorm. Even Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the WWW, believes that Amazon are going much too far. But if we are to do anything about it the initiative has to come from people, not left to dank govenment departments which would rather cut off benefits to disabled people and invade Libya.
  

  We once had a empire and it was led by an emperor then we had a kingdom which was led by a king. Now we have a country.

  30.9.2011 14:22 #12

• casurratt

  Good point, bogwart. I stand corrected.
  

  30.9.2011 15:42 #13

• bogwart16

  Thank you for your courtesy.
  

  We once had a empire and it was led by an emperor then we had a kingdom which was led by a king. Now we have a country.

  30.9.2011 15:55 #14

• Mez

  casurratt, many of us like to complain. It is therapeutic.

  30.9.2011 21:35 #15