Spotify is facing continued backlash following its decision to end support for Car Thing, its in-car streaming device, announced earlier in May. The device will no longer work from December 9, 2024, the company said. On TikTok, Gen Z users are posting videos to express their displeasure with Spotify’s decision and recommended actions, like switching to Android Auto or CarPlay. They often didn’t have access to the infotainment systems built into their car, making them a target market for a dedicated player like Car Thing, users note.
The streaming service’s in-car gadget hadn’t been on the market long enough to make it obsolete. It launched in February 2022 and was discontinued later the same year, but with the promise of keeping it operational for those who have already purchased units. Before its launch, Spotify CEO Danie Ek suggested there was consumer demand for such a product, telling investors on a paid call that more than 2 million users had signed up on the waiting list for Car Thing in anticipation of its release.
Although Spotify has never shared official numbers, it’s likely that Car Thing underperformed or simply wasn’t worth investing in today’s tighter economic market. In the latter case, for example, Spotify laid off around 1,500 employees at the end of last year, after budget cuts earlier in the year that affected hundreds of people.
However, Car Thing users don’t care about the company’s financial concerns; they just want their gadget to work, or at least be reimbursed for its $90 price tag.
This has led some to try to complain directly to Spotify via DMs on X with @SpotifyCares or via various Spotify emails shared on Reddit. In doing so, some users reported that Spotify offered them several months of Premium membership to make up for their loss, while others claimed to have asked customer service and been told that no one was getting their money back.
Spotify tells TechCrunch that it more recently instituted a refund process for Car Thing, provided the user has proof of purchase.
The ability to contact customer support was officially communicated to Car Thing users in a second email sent Friday last week after backlash increased following the Car Thing shutdown. In it, Spotify directs users to the appropriate customer support link to contact the company. The email, however, does not promise any refunds, but states that users can ask questions.
While a refund might satisfy some of Car Thing’s upset user base, many are still pleading with the company via TikTok videos and in comments on Spotify’s TikTok posts not to brick their device. (In fact, complaints about the Car Thing are so common on Spotify videos that the algorithmically recommended search TikTok suggests on some videos is “what is the Spotify car thing?”).
“SPOTIFY PLEASE SAVE ME 😭😭😭 I LOVE MY CAR THING,” Carla, a TikTok user who goes by @carlititica, wrote on the service.
“Sad,” wrote another user, @nikkilovestech. “It’s like they want people to use their phones, which is distracting,” she wrote in the description of her video demonstrating a Car Thing mounted on her dashboard. In her video, she also commented on the e-waste that results from discontinuing a product that still works “perfectly fine.”
Spotify’s headaches over the Car Thing shutdown aren’t over yet, despite the newly introduced – if not widely publicized – refund process. The company also faces a class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that claims Spotify misled consumers by selling them a soon-to-be-obsolete product and then offering no refunds, Billboard reports . The complaint was filed on May 28.
Spotify cannot comment on the lawsuit, but a spokesperson shared the following statement about Car Thing:
“The goal of our Car Thing exploration in the United States was to learn more about how people listen in the car. In July 2022, we announced that we would be stopping production and now it is time to say goodbye to these devices completely. Users will have until December 9, 2024 to deactivate all Car Thing devices. To learn more about all the ways you can continue listening to Spotify in the car, check out For The Record, and Car Thing users can contact customer support with any questions: https://support.spotify.com/us /contact-spotify-support/”
While the Car Thing issues won’t affect Spotify’s entire user base, the news comes at a time when users are already upset about having to pay more for things they consider essential to a music service, such as access to lyrics. , a recently paid feature by Spotify. In addition to complaints about Car Thing, users are threatening to leave Spotify due to paid access to lyrics.
Additionally, Spotify increased its subscription prices last year, and another increase is on the way in 2024, Bloomberg reported.
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