Leading up to the launch of Apple Music, reports were surfacing suggesting that the upcoming streaming music service from Apple could force Spotify to eject its free, ad-supported tier.
That tier, which is one of the biggest selling points for Spotify, is one of the major reasons that artists like Taylor Swift keep their music out of the service, as Swift has noted in the past she believes it devalues her music. Swift was also vocal regarding Apple’s decision to not pay artists during a three-month trial period for Apple Music, but that ultimately got settled. Now, with Apple Music boasting 11 million trial subscribers and Spotify’s license renewals on the horizon, some changes might be on the way.
A report published by Digital Music News, and citing unnamed sources, states that Spotify could be forced to make some big changes to the way its ad-supported free tier works. While Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, reportedly “hates” restricting content behind its Premium tier, that may indeed be what has to happen, according to the sources. As Spotify prepares to renew its licensing deals with labels, the three biggest (Warner, Universal and Sony) are apparently pressuring Spotify to making big changes.
Those changes could include the content that’s available to free Spotify users not being the same as what’s available for Premium subscribers. Whether that means some full albums are simply not available, or free users are only able to listen to a couple of tracks from a popular album, with the rest of the artist’s work hidden in the Premium area, remains to be seen. These examples, and many others, are apparently being tossed around.
Spotify’s licensing renwel is set to take place on October 1, and whatever changes that Spotify does decide on would not roll out until sometime early 2016, at the earliest, as Spotify would have to make the necessary accommodations to its desktop and mobile applications.
It’s all rumor for now, but, months after Apple Music’s launch, it’s possible that big changes are coming to Spotify.
[via AppleInsider; Digital Music News]
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