Thinking about getting a Spotify song tattoo? Maybe don’t.

Some people looking to get interesting ink are getting tattoos of barcodes that will get a song playing if you scan them with a phone. It’s a cool party trick that’s become something of a craze in some circles–but it doesn’t last long.

They have to work in the first place but because they need to be drawn 100% accurately, not all tattoo artists are able to do that. Second, tattoo lines thicken over time. If the lines of barcode get too thick, it won’t work. Third, ink fades. If it goes below a certain level, it will stop working. And fourth, if that area of the skin gets injured or wrinkled, it will stop working. And even if things are perfect, they probably won’t work under certain light.

This is from The Wall Street Journal (via Digital Music News)

“’They are the most stressful tattoos I have ever done,’” Natalie Wilkinson told the WSJ about the Spotify tattoo requests. Wilkinson says if you have your heart set on one, you should choose a part of your body that is flat, like the upper knee or the inner ankle. Wilkinson says she refuses to put the tattoos on certain parts of the body including hands, where the ink is more likely to fade. Wilkinson also insists on printing a test of the code to make sure it works before tattooing.”

Maybe think of something else?