This article is part of a bigger newsletter.

Archive: https://archive.is/2025.03.20-181313/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-03-20/porn-on-spotify-is-infiltrating-the-streaming-service-s-top-podcast-charts

These programs don’t contain video but are sexually explicit with show or episode titles often marked by the creator as “NSFW,” or “not safe for work.” The creators sometimes instruct their fans to rate the content poorly on purpose so that Spotify doesn’t detect it. They also sometimes ask listeners not to report the shows if they don’t like what they’re hearing or seeing. When I reached out, Spotify also removed these programs for violating the platform’s terms of use.

Sexually explicit material has persisted on Spotify for years, but the issue resurfaced in December when a Reddit user noticed the service’s algorithm recommending porn. Some users on the videos I spotted this week also commented. Why, they wondered, were they being served this content when searching for music?