Spotify continues to face criticism over its decision to end support for its in-car streaming device, Car Thing, announced in early May. The company said the device will no longer work after December 9, 2024. On TikTok, Gen Z users have posted videos expressing their frustration with Spotify's response and recommendations such as switching to Android Auto and CarPlay. In many cases, they note, they never had access to their car's built-in infotainment system in the first place, making them the target market for dedicated players like Car Thing.
The streaming service's in-car gadget hasn't been on the market long enough to become outdated: It was launched in February 2022 and discontinued later that year, with the promise that it would continue to work for users who had already bought it. Ahead of the launch, Spotify CEO Danny Ek hinted at consumer demand for such a product, telling investors during an earnings call that more than 2 million users had signed up for a waitlist for Car Thing in anticipation of the launch.
Image credit: SpotifyImage credit: Spotify
Spotify hasn't released official figures, but it's more likely that Car Thing's performance was disappointing, or that in today's tough economic market it wasn't worth continuing to invest in. If the latter, Spotify fired around 1,500 staff at the end of last year, following cuts that affected hundreds more earlier this year.
But Car Thing users don't care about the company's financial concerns: All they want is for their gadget to work, or at least get their $90 back.
As a result, some users have attempted to complain directly to Spotify, either through X's @SpotifyCares DMs or various Spotify emails shared on Reddit. Some users report that by doing so, Spotify offered them a few months of Premium subscription to make up for their losses, while others claim that they contacted customer service only to be told that no one would refund them.
Spotify told TechCrunch that it recently began offering refunds for Car Thing, but only if users have proof of purchase.
The ability to contact customer support was officially communicated to Car Thing users in a second email sent last Friday after the backlash against Car Thing's demise grew, in which Spotify directed users to the correct customer support link to contact the company, but the email did not promise refunds, saying users could contact the company with any questions.
While refunds may be satisfactory to some users upset about Car Thing, many others have been pleading with the company not to destroy the device through TikTok videos and comments on Spotify's TikTok posts. (In fact, complaints about Car Thing have become so prevalent in Spotify videos that TikTok's algorithm suggests the search term “what is the Spotify Car Thing” in some videos.)
“Dear SPOTIFY, please forgive me ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ I love my car,” wrote Cara, a TikTok user who goes by the handle @carlititica on the service.
“Sad,” wrote another user, @nikkilovestech. “It's like they want people to use their phones and it gets in the way,” she wrote in the description of a video demoing the Car Thing mounted on a dashboard. In the video, she also commented on the e-waste that comes with discontinuing a product that still works “perfectly fine.”
For Spotify, the headaches over Car Thing's discontinuation aren't over, even with the new refund process. Billboard reports that the company is also facing a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, which claims Spotify misled consumers by selling them a soon-to-be-discontinued product and then not offering refunds. The lawsuit was filed on May 28.
Spotify cannot comment on lawsuits, but a spokesperson released the following statement about Car Thing:
“The goal of our Car Thing study in the US was to learn how people listen to music in their cars. In July 2022, we announced that we would stop further production, and now it's time to say goodbye to the device for good. Users will have all Car Thing devices deactivated by December 9, 2024. To learn more about all the ways you can keep listening to Spotify in your car, visit For The Record. Car Thing users can contact customer support with any questions: https://support.spotify.com/us/contact-spotify-support/.”
While the troubles over Car Thing don't affect all Spotify users, the news comes at a time when users are already upset that they are being asked to pay extra for features they see as core to the music service, such as access to lyrics, which Spotify recently made available on a paid basis. In addition to complaints about Car Thing, users have threatened to quit Spotify over paid access to lyrics.
Additionally, Spotify raised its subscription fees last year and plans to increase them further in 2024, Bloomberg reported.