Spotify Ends Restrictions for Free Users, Allowing On-Demand Song Selection
Stockholm, Sweden – Spotify is rolling out a significant change to its free tier, finally allowing users to select and play specific songs on demand, a feature long exclusive to Premium subscribers.The move, announced September 15, 2025, dramatically alters the streaming landscape and aims to boost spotify’s advertising revenue.
For years, free Spotify users have been limited to shuffled playlists or radio-style listening experiences. This update removes those restrictions, granting access to Spotify’s entire catalog for individual song selection – albeit with ad interruptions and a daily time limit for this functionality, dubbed “time on demand” by the company, the length of which has not been disclosed. The change impacts Spotify’s massive free user base of 433 million, alongside its 276 million paid subscribers.
Spotify’s decision is driven by a goal to increase advertising income to 20% of total revenue, up from its current 11%. By offering greater control to free users, the company hopes to increase engagement and, consequently, ad impressions.
Premium subscribers will retain exclusive benefits, including AI-generated playlists with seamless transitions, and lossless audio quality.Spotify intends to maintain a clear distinction between the tiers, preserving the value proposition for paying customers.
The update is expected to put pressure on competing music streaming platforms to follow suit,possibly reshaping the industry standard for free access to music.
