A new report indicates that Spotify is considering changing its long held stance against separating the music offered on its free and paid tiers. Sources claim that chairman Daniel Ek is coming around to the idea of "windowing" select new music to paid tier subscribers only, with that music released at a later date to free tier subscribers.
The move is reportedly being considered in the light of the company's intentions to go public in the near future. Spotify is under the gun in that it needs to come to agreements with the three major record labels, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Group and Warner Music Group, in order to get its initial public offering off the ground. The labels have long objected to Spotify's policy of not differentiating between the music offered to paying and non-paying customers.
Taylor Swift famously got into a war of words with the company over the policy, and Adele recently withheld the release of her blockbuster 25 album on Spotify until several months after its initial release.
Rumblings about the possibility of paid-tier-only releases by certain artists began late last year, but were denied by Spotify, which at the time released a statement claiming to be "100 percent committed to our model because we believe that a free, ad-supported tier combined with a more robust premium tier is the best way to deliver music to fans, create value for artists and songwriters, and grow the industry."
Spotify pays artists and labels much less per stream for spins on its free tier than it does for plays on its premium tier, which costs users $9.99 per month. That's the same price Apple Music and Tidal charge for their streaming services, both of which do not offer a free ad supported version.
That's largely why those streamers have been able to land coveted exclusives from top shelf artists such as Kanye West, Drake, Rihanna, Beyoncé and others while Spotify has languished with no exclusives of note. Even though the tide has recently turned against offering exclusives on one streaming service only, artists and labels would be much more willing to consider releasing their new music on Spotify if it is initially limited to the paid tier only. Just how long the music will be featured on the paid tier only before being released on the free tier as well is not yet clear, but Ek is likely to push for as short a window as possible.
