It includes unlimited skipping, and the freedom to pick any song to play, but it still has adverts...
What you need to know
- Spotify is testing a brand new subscription tier.
- It only costs $0.99.
- It will let users skip unlimited tracks and play any specific song, but will still be supported by adverts.
Spotify has confirmed that it has begun testing a brand new subscription service that only costs $0.99, and will let users skip as many songs as they like and pick any song they want to listen to.
The new tier, noted by The Verge, is called Spotify Plus, and as mentioned it costs just $0.99 a month. For that price, users will be able to skip an unlimited number of songs, and they'll be able to select any specific track they want to listen to. Under the restrictions of Spotify's current free tier, users can't skip more than six tracks every hour, and they can only shuffle albums and playlists.
The new Spotify Plus tier will still feature adverts, but there isn't any current information on how regular or frequent these adverts will be. It also seems like the $1 tier won't have any impact on music quality, whereas Spotify Premium listeners can choose to listen to higher quality streams.
In a statement, Spotify said "We're always working to enhance the Spotify experience and we routinely conduct tests to inform our decisions. We're currently conducting a test of an ad-supported subscription plan with a limited number of our users."
Spotify warned, however, that whilst "some tests end up paving the way for new offerings or enhancements", others "may only provide learnings", hinting that just because it's testing this new tier, that doesn't mean its release down the line to all users is a certainty.
At its earnings call last week Spotify announced that it now has 365 million monthly active users, and hopes to have 400 million by the end of the year. However, some 200 million of these users are on Spotify's free tier, with only 165 million paying for Premium. It seems logical that Spotify might want to try and bridge the gap with an 'in-between subscription tier that may even entice users to fork out for Premium further down the line.
As an Xbox Series X user currently longing for Apple Music on Xbox, I use Spotify most days to listen to music whilst I play. However, the free-tier restrictions on track selection and skipping are really irksome, so I would definitely consider a subscription that only costs one dollar as a trade-off. Would you?
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