Spotify has announced restrictions in India for its free tier users. Now on, users who are not subscribed to Spotify Premium, will not be able to manually play songs in a specific order, or even rewind, and more.
Spotify users who are not paying a subscription fee will not be able to play songs in a specific order in a playlist, repeat songs, go back to previous songs, or select a specific part of a song. And, if they want these benefits, the only option will be to subscribe to Spotify Premium, which starts at Rs 119 a month in India.
Less freebies for free users
India has one of the highest monthly active user counts for the service, ranking the top five countries, Spotify told TechCrunch. “However, it does not fall under top markets in terms of subscribers to free users ratio — given the majority of users in India opt for the ad-supported model,” added the company.
The experience for free users in India is now close to what users in other countries experience, and these changes come as the market has matured now, according to Spotify.
Those not subscribed to the Premium tier will have the freedom to select and play any song they like, and there will be no limitations on the duration of streaming. Additionally, users can easily listen to any song again by simply revisiting the playlist and tapping on the preferred track.
Starting from now, Smart Shuffle will be the default listening mode for all free users, and they will not be able to disable it. The traditional shuffle mode will only be available as a premium feature.
Smart Shuffle suggests songs based on the user’s taste and the current song or playlist they are listening to. This feature, which has been available to subscribers, was initially launched to provide better suggestions for adding songs to a particular playlist.
Despite price hikes in several countries, Spotify has not increased subscription prices in India till now.
Spotify users who are not paying a subscription fee will not be able to play songs in a specific order in a playlist, repeat songs, go back to previous songs, or select a specific part of a song. And, if they want these benefits, the only option will be to subscribe to Spotify Premium, which starts at Rs 119 a month in India.
Less freebies for free users
India has one of the highest monthly active user counts for the service, ranking the top five countries, Spotify told TechCrunch. “However, it does not fall under top markets in terms of subscribers to free users ratio — given the majority of users in India opt for the ad-supported model,” added the company.
The experience for free users in India is now close to what users in other countries experience, and these changes come as the market has matured now, according to Spotify.
Those not subscribed to the Premium tier will have the freedom to select and play any song they like, and there will be no limitations on the duration of streaming. Additionally, users can easily listen to any song again by simply revisiting the playlist and tapping on the preferred track.
Starting from now, Smart Shuffle will be the default listening mode for all free users, and they will not be able to disable it. The traditional shuffle mode will only be available as a premium feature.
Smart Shuffle suggests songs based on the user’s taste and the current song or playlist they are listening to. This feature, which has been available to subscribers, was initially launched to provide better suggestions for adding songs to a particular playlist.
Despite price hikes in several countries, Spotify has not increased subscription prices in India till now.
