Spotify Enhances Free Tier with On-Demand Playback
Spotify is rolling out a significant update to its free tier, allowing users to search for and play specific songs – a feature previously limited to premium subscribers. The change, beginning implementation globally this week, expands functionality for the majority of Spotify’s user base.
currently, Spotify boasts 696 million monthly active users, with 276 million paying for subscriptions. This means roughly 60% of users rely on the free, ad-supported version of the service. Previously, free users were restricted to shuffled playlists with limited song-skipping capabilities.Now,they can directly select tracks and even open songs shared via social media links within the app.
However, this expanded access isn’t entirely unlimited. Spotify will be introducing a daily “On-Demand Time” allowance for free users. Once this time limit is reached, the previous restrictions on song selection and skipping will be reinstated. The exact duration of this “On-Demand Time” has not yet been disclosed.
Spotify has not commented on whether these changes will impact the advertising experience for free users.
The rollout of these improvements coincides with Spotify’s peak advertising season, with revenue expected to reach its highest point in the fourth quarter due to holiday spending. The company reported a 12% increase in paid subscribers and a 10.5% growth in free users year-over-year in July. Reflecting positive market response, Spotify’s share value has increased by 108% over the past year.