A new report claims that Spotify is planning to change its business model. The service will begin offering premium content only available to paying subscribers.
The shakeup in the world of streaming music continues, as Spotify is apparently preparing to do the once unthinkable by making certain content available only to subscribers paying for the service. The move comes as increased pressure from music labels precedes the streaming service's renewal pacts with the three majors, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group.
Currently, Spotify offers two tiers of music streaming for listeners, a free and paid tier. However, the paid tier only offers users the ability to stream the same content without being interrupted by commercials, which are mandatory on the free tier. Spotify reportedly wants more listeners to convert to the paid tier by making them feel they are missing out on some important and exclusive content.
The details of how exactly Spotify would differentiate content between the two tiers are not yet clear, but one scenario envisions only certain tracks by the most popular artists being made available on the free tier, with users being required to upgrade in order to hear the full catalog. For example, a new album release might allow free subscribers to hear one or two tracks from the album while paid subscribers could hear it in its entirety. Another scenario would involve strictly limiting the time frame in which a free user could stream the new release, perhaps only for a week, before being required to upgrade to the premium tier to continue listening.
Spotify has notoriously refused to limit the amount of content available to free listeners in the past, even though artists like Adele, and, most famously, Taylor Swift, pulled their popular content from the service as a result. One reason for Spotify's stance has been the commitment of CEO Daniel Ek, who has been fiercely against the premium content idea. Apparently, pressure from the major labels, whose deals with Spotify all expire on October 1, is forcing Ek to reconsider the revamp, which would reportedly begin in 2016.
