Changes to Free Accounts
Spotify has loosened the restrictions for free accounts, which could potentially lure some paying subscribers to switch. This change comes just a few days after the world’s most popular streaming app introduced loss-free audio for premium members.
Increased Competition
Spotify is facing increased competition from competitors such as Apple, who have recently expanded a new tool to make it easier to switch to Apple Music. In response, Spotify is giving its free users more freedom to listen to what they want, instead of being tied to playlists, albums, and skip boundaries.
New Features for Free Users
With the new "Pick & Play" feature, free users can listen to any song they want. However, skip restrictions have not completely disappeared. According to Spotify, there is a "daily assigned amount of on-demand time" and once this time is used up, users will be limited to six skips per hour. Other new features include the ability to search and play songs, and to play songs immediately that friends have sent via social media apps like WhatsApp.
Limitations for Free Users
Despite these changes, the largest limitation for free users will continue to exist: the only way to avoid advertisements is to pay for a premium subscription. As a Spotify representative stated, "Only Spotify Premium users have complete control to play and skip music without restrictions."
Benefits of Spotify Premium
For those who want to upgrade to a premium subscription, the benefits include:
- Advertising-free music listening
- Downloading music for offline listening
- Playing songs in any order
- High audio quality
- Listening to friends in real time
- Organizing the listening queue
Premium subscriptions are available at various price points, including: - Spotify Premium individual: £11.99 / $11.99
- Spotify Premium Duo: £16.99 / $16.99
- Spotify Premium family: £19.99 / $19.99
- Spotify Premium Student: £5.99 / $5.99
