What’s Happening?
Users have been noticing a strange device on their devices list called “Spotiamb 0.2.1” appearing randomly, even after disconnecting from all devices and changing passwords.
All it does is play music from lesser-known artists while you’re away, but in some cases, it will interrupt the current music and start playing music from outside your library.
At first, users thought this was a Spotify exploit, a cheap way for unknown artists to get listens, and therefore, revenue.
Spotify is not involved, but it’s not far from the truth.
Spotify Connect is only available for premium users, so non-paying users will not experience this.
What Is Spotiamb 0.2.1?
It’s a simple mod for the classic music player Winamp that lets users connect their Spotify account to listen to music on it, instead of the web player or official desktop app.
The mod in itself is harmless, but hackers are exploiting this function to log into other people’s accounts and use it without consent.
Why Is This Happening?
Spotify pays artists based on the number of listens. The more listen you have, the more you get paid. But for lesser-known artists, it’s nearly impossible to get a substantial amount when competing against giants.
The purpose of this hack is to generate automated “listens” for these artists, therefore, generating revenue.
How Do I Fix It?
Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a guaranteed way to fix it.
A Spotify representative on the community website said:
“After further investigation it seems some accounts may have been accessed by attackers guessing the password after multiple tries.
Although it is listed as a Connect device, by no means was the Spotiamb player used in the compromise of accounts. The reason why it appears as a Connect device is because someone logged in with that user's credentials.” (Spotify Community)
The most popular thread about it on the Spotify Community website started in July 2015, and still has reports of the same problem dating to a week ago (December 2016). You can read the full thread here.
Logging off all your devices and changing your password is the recommended immediate action, but this solution doesn't fix the problem for most people, which is very concerning. Frustrated users have been abandoning Spotify in favor of other music streaming services, like Deezer and Play Music.
Do you have Spotify Premium? Have you experienced this problem yourself? Can you tell about your experience? Be sure to let us know, perhaps something you did can help other users understand what’s happening to their accounts. Follow us on Facebook for more articles every day!
