In a significant move, Spotify has finally upgraded its service for free users, after a highly anticipated release of its lossless streaming for paid subscribers.
The Swedish music streaming giant allowed free users to browse and play any of their favourite songs or play a song shared by a friend they follow on social media, with new features named “Pick & Play,” “Search & Play," and "Share & Play."
The “Share & Play” feature could prompt users to launch the app whenever they find a song on social media.
Free users were only allowed to shuffle songs with limited skips on their handsets.
With these significant upgrades, Spotify aims to increase engagement among its free user base, who would then get more ads.
Furthermore, the company stated that these features, such as AI Playlists, support for lossless, and Mix, will remain a Premium-only offering.
While other features, such as the Messages, and more, which are accessible to users all across the globe, will span both the paid and free experiences.
Spotify’s free tier continues to attract a broader audience. In the latest quarter, out of 696 million monthly active users, 433 million were on the free, ad-supported plan, while 276 million were Premium paying subscribers.
Availability
Spotify announced the recently launched features are available to free users worldwide; however, there will still be a few limitations for free users.