Right now when you sign up for Spotify, you can choose between a free tier, an individual paid subscription or a family plan. But the streaming platform is currently testing out a new, low-cost option that gives more freedom within the platform while still serving ads.
In what is called Spotify Plus, Verge writes, “the plan still features ads like Spotify’s free tier, but it doesn’t impose any limits on the number of tracks you can skip per hour. Users are also free to pick which specific songs they want to listen to, rather than mostly being limited to shuffling within albums and playlists.”
The plan is still technically in its beta form and is being rolled out to random users at a variety of price points to gauge interest. At least one user has seen it at $0.99, but there’s no guarantee that the plan, when it officially launches, will be in its current form.
“We’re always working to enhance the Spotify experience and we routinely conduct tests to inform our decisions,” a spokesperson for Spotify said. “We’re currently conducting a test of an ad-supported subscription plan with a limited number of our users.”
They continued, “Some tests end up paving the way for new offerings or enhancements while others may only provide learnings. We don’t have any additional information to share at this time.”
Spotify Plus could potentially entice many current free-tier users into purchasing a less financially demanding subscription, thus improving their listening experience commensurate to the price, as well as putting some extra money into Spotify’s pocket — which hopefully reflects positively on the artists that make their platform what it is.
via Verge |
