Free users have no more extended access to unlimited Spotify features

Unlimited free streaming has come to an end with Spotify’s new reforms in India. The Swedish giant Spotify has developed new reforms in India that have been implemented as of October 5, 2023. With this free Spotify users have lost access to unlimited features like repeated song play, selection of particular parts in the song, and playing a playlist in an order.

It has brought an end to its active free-tier streaming option since its release in 2019. Spotify states it will balance the restricted reforms with improved recommendations from “Smart Shuffle” for a fresh listening experience. It is a similar feature available to paid users that will auto-play suggested songs according to user search history and preferences. This is a step toward making free streaming consistent across all markets. But more likely, this is Spotify’s new scheme to motivate users to opt for its low-cost premium plans.

Only a year after Spotify’s leading opponent, Gaana, shifted the platform to a complete subscription platform did Spotify bring about a major change in its services to sponsor paid-tier streaming. Streaming can still stream music limitlessly on the platform but it does not return to the last song. Spotify will now only allow users to stream forward though they will still be able to stream songs from their favorite artists, playlists, albums, and song recommendations.

According to a TechCrunch report, India is one of the biggest Spotify user markets but it is below the top 5 markets when it comes to paid users as the Indian market prefers and settles for the free-tier ad-supported models of the app.

This rapid revolution in music streaming service providers suggests the level of competency. It can be expected that the audio streaming market to soon turn into a fully paid-tier business considering the following chain of changes in the reforms of streaming apps.