They cram ads into podcast episodes which themselves also have ads, so you'll get the read ads + Spotify's local ads + Spotify laughs all the way to the bank.
I believe over time not having ads will be a thing of the past, and you'll instead pay for fewer ads. Like where else are people going to go for exclusive content?
Moved to Apple Music and so far so good.
FWIW, I don't think Spotify makes much, if any, money lol
The issue is that the current streaming services have cost billions to develop and companies and investors want that money back, times a 100. The money hasn't gone into a long term product that people will be happy with for decades, it has gone into a product that needs to return large chunk of money in a short time frame (and cover up other failed ventures).
per their financial statements, about 150Mio in operating profits per quarter. Gross profit of 1.000Mio per quarter.
I'd like to have that kind of "not much money"