槽边往事: Spotify被广告卡住

流媒体平台Spotify 以曲库丰富，推荐音乐品味上佳而著称。相当数量的人选择成为Spotify 的免费用户，其中包括我。今天晚上，在使用Spotify 过程中发生了一件奇怪的事：

Spotify is well-known for its vast music library and excellent music recommendations. Many people, including myself, opt for the free version of Spotify. Tonight, something strange happened while I was using it:

Spotify 会在免费用户的音乐流中加入广告，一般来说，听完30秒的广告，Spotify 就会继续播放音乐。但是，今晚我听完广告之后，发现整个Spotify App卡住了。我尝试过升级App，关闭重启iPad，关闭重启App，广告就停在第28秒不动，播放和暂停键都不起任何作用。

Normally, Spotify inserts ads into the music stream for free users. After listening to a 30-second ad, Spotify resumes playing music. However, tonight, after finishing the ad, the entire Spotify app froze. I tried upgrading the app, restarting my iPad, and closing and reopening the app, but the ad remained stuck at 28 seconds, and the play and pause buttons didn't work.

我通过Google找寻答案，发现Spotify 被广告卡住是个历史悠久的问题，在网络上类似的问题可以追溯到5年之前。就在此刻，Spotify 的用户社区里还有一个讨论，长达24页：

Searching on Google, I found out that Spotify freezing due to ads is a long-standing issue dating back at least five years. At this moment, there's a 24-page discussion thread in the Spotify user community titled:

Spotify stops playing after an ad

在如此壮观的讨论之后，社区主持人只是在搜集资料，要求用户上报log文件，并且反复宣称团队正在解决问题，并没有任何可以真正帮助到用户的方法。

Despite the extensive discussion, the community moderators are only collecting data and asking users to submit log files. They keep reassuring users that the team is working on a solution, but there's no real help offered.

我自己找到了一个办法---

I found a way out myself:

当时我通过iPad 上的Spotify App播放音乐，使用Wi-Fi连接到我的Zidoo Z10 Pro 媒体播放器。再通过它连接我的放大器，放大器接书架音响。广告卡住之后，我切换iPhone 上的Spotify App，同样卡住。这样，我的iPad 和iPhone 上的Spotify App都不能用了。

I was playing music through the Spotify app on my iPad, connected via Wi-Fi to my Zidoo Z10 Pro media player, which was connected to my amplifier, which, in turn, was connected to my bookshelf speakers. After the ad got stuck, I switched to the Spotify app on my iPhone, but it also froze. This rendered both Spotify apps on my iPad and iPhone useless.

我反复尝试了好几次，猜测这是因为Spotify App认为广告没有播放完毕，所以不允许继续播放音乐。那么，我忍不住去想：如果我能让Spotify 成功播放一次广告，是不是一切问题都解决了？

After several attempts, I guessed that Spotify might think the ad hadn't finished playing, so it wouldn't allow music playback to continue. I couldn't help but wonder: What if I could get Spotify to successfully play one ad? Would that solve everything?

由于iPad 和 iPhone上的Spotify App 全部卡住，我只能用iPhone 上的Spotify App 用去连另外一个无线音箱---之前我已经使用过它，所以它在Spotify App 的设备列表里。我很顺利地连接上了我的无线音响，Spotify 开始自动播放，并且很快地切换到之前的广告上。30秒钟后，广告播放完毕，Spotify App开始播放音乐流。在同一时间，我iPad 上的Spotify App也解除了卡阻，一切恢复正常。

Since both Spotify apps on my iPad and iPhone were frozen, I used the Spotify app on my iPhone to connect to another wireless speaker that I had previously used with Spotify and was listed in the device list. I easily connected to it, and Spotify started playing automatically and quickly switched to the previous ad. After 30 seconds, the ad finished, and Spotify resumed playing music. At the same time, the Spotify app on my iPad also unfroze, and everything returned to normal.

事情就是这样，因为网络或者软件的原因，造成Spotify 广告不能完整播放完毕，就会造成卡住。而Spotify App是非常顽固的一个软件，可能为了防止免费用户跳过广告，所以App 里也没有提供强制重启一类的功能，并且，在所有关联设备上都强制播放广告，造成卡阻在所有设备之间传染。

So, if an ad can't play completely due to network or software issues, it causes the app to freeze. The Spotify app is quite stubborn; perhaps to prevent free users from skipping ads, it doesn't provide a forced restart option. Moreover, it forces ads to play on all connected devices, leading to freezing across all devices.

但是对于顽固的Spotify APP而言，用户选择扬声器这件事优先权高于任何歌曲选择、播放，所以，它允许用户选择另外的扬声器。随着扬声器变更，Spotify APP会坚持播放广告，但是这一次只要能通过，问题就得到了解决。

However, for the stubborn Spotify app, selecting a different speaker takes priority over song selection and playback. So, it allows users to choose another speaker. With the speaker change, the Spotify app persists in playing the ad, but this time, if it goes through, the problem is resolved.

我不确信Spotify 的团队是否真的无法锁定问题，也不确信他们是否真的无法开发出一个简短的判断逻辑或者重启功能，看起来，一切都像是为了维护广告的顺利播放。

I'm not sure if Spotify's team genuinely can't pinpoint the issue or if they genuinely can't develop a simple check logic or restart function. It seems everything is geared towards ensuring smooth ad playback.

不是一个所有人都适合的解决办法，但起码对于我来说，切换扬声器是有效的。

It's not a solution that suits everyone, but at least for me, switching speakers works effectively.