Spotify has a gigantic user base that uses the application completely free. Now, the platform It has just improved this plan With something that took years: the possibility of searching and reproducing any specific song, thus ending with one of the most frustrating limitations of its free service. The platform has introduced the functions “Pick & Play”, “Search & Play” and “Share & Play”, which allow to select and directly reproduce any topic.
Choose yes, but the ads continue. Until now, Spotify free users could only listen to music in random mode with a maximum of six jumps per hour, which forced to wait until the desired song sounded. This restriction pushed many users towards other alternatives, such as YouTube, or make the leap to the premium subscription. With this change, Spotify seeks to retain their free base while exposing these users to more ads.
In detail. The new functions eliminate the most annoying barrier of the free service. Users can now play any song in the mobile application and reproduce it instantly, look for specific songs or play songs shared by friends on social networks. However, limitations do not disappear completely: as the company has confirmed to specialized media, There is a daily limit From “time on demand” that, once exhausted, is restricted again to six jumps per hour.
A lucrative source of income. This decision comes at a crucial moment for Spotify. Your advertising business is going through difficulties, with CEO Daniel Ek recognizing that the company has “moved too slow” on this front. The platform wants advertising income to represent 20% of its total income, but It has only reached 11% until June. With 433 million free users compared to 276 million premium subscribers, improving free experience can translate into greater engagement and, therefore, more advertising exposure.
And now what. Spotify maintains exclusive premium functions such as lossless audiothe Reproduction lists with AI and other advanced characteristics, beyond, logically, of reproduction without ads. With this change, the company has positioned itself towards maintaining sufficient incentives to not make its users opt for other platforms, some of them consider climbing the premium and thus continue to grow in advertising income. It is of course good news for users who were conf formed with the free plan, although everything will depend on that limitation of ‘time on demand’.
Cover image | @felipepelaquim
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