Spotify’s Free Users Will Now Have To Wait For New Music

Spotify has always provided the same music library to its free and paid users even though free users are limited in terms of features and ease of use. This has been a bone of contention between the popular music streaming service and record labels who don’t really like the fact that it provides non-paying users with access to the latest music. Spotify has now reportedly inked a deal with major record label Universal Music Group which will make some albums available only for premium users at least for a limited time.

What this means is that if your favorite singer is signed with the Universal Music Group and they come out with a new album, chances are that if you’re a free Spotify user you may have to wait for a couple of weeks before you can listen to their new music on Spotify. If you pay $9.99 per month for its Premium service you will be able to access the new album as and when it comes out.

Spotify CEO Daniel Eck confirmed in a statement that “Starting today, Universal artists can choose to release new albums on premium only for two weeks,” adding that this will provide subscribers an earlier chance to explore the entire creative work while singles will remain available across Spotify for all users – free and paid alike- to enjoy.

So far, Universal is the only major label that appears to have signed this deal with Spotify and it wouldn’t be surprising if the likes of Sony and Warner signed something similar in the very near future.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Spotify