Spotify is piloting a cheaper ad-supported tier starting at $0.99 a month

[Shawn Knight]

In brief: Swedish streaming provider Spotify is testing a new feature called Spotify Plus that’s essentially a mash up of its existing ad-supported and premium tiers. With Spotify Plus, listeners will still be subjected to advertising, but they’ll have the ability to skip as many tracks as they want. What’s more, Spotify Plus listeners will be able to choose specific songs they want to listen to, rather than having to make do with a largely shuffled selection of tracks.

YouTube isn’t the only streaming giant actively piloting a lower-cost subscription tier.

The Verge was the first to report on Spotify’s experiment. At least one user has been offered the service for $0.99 per month, although Spotify is reportedly testing multiple price points to gauge interest. A company spokesperson confirmed to the publication that the pilot program is indeed legitimate and is being conducted with a limited number of users.

Spotify’s standard premium membership starts at $9.99 per month, which grants ad-free listening, on-demand playback and offline listening for a single account. Multi-user plans are available as well, and there’s even a $4.99 student plan that adds access to the ad-supported version of Hulu and access to Showtime.

Would you shell out $0.99 per month for on-demand listening with unlimited skips and ads? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/90651-spotify-piloting-cheaper-ad-supported-tier-starting-099.html

 

[Hexic]

Any way to milk that money… predictable.

 

[captaincranky]

And yet I still enjoy shopping for, and buying, CDs. Why is that?

BTW, my AV receivers, (of which I have two), both have onboard AM/FM tuners, chock full of ads, with predetermined free playlists

 

[psycros]

Weird how music companies haven't decided to Balkanize their content like all the video content producers have. Its almost like they realize that lots of distribution channels result in higher sales.

 

[Versutus]

And yet I still enjoy shopping for, and buying, CDs. Why is that?

BTW, my AV receivers, (of which I have two), both have onboard AM/FM tuners, chock full of ads, with predetermined free playlists

As I growing older I like less and less physical things. I skipped the entire CD generation went straight to mp3 from casettes. I like Spotify even if I don't own the music.

 

[McMurdeR]

And yet I still enjoy shopping for, and buying, CDs. Why is that?

BTW, my AV receivers, (of which I have two), both have onboard AM/FM tuners, chock full of ads, with predetermined free playlists

To each their own. Disk, Vinyl, Digital, whatever. It's great that the choice is still there. I love the digital subscriptions myself - the library of content available is unreal, and my range of musical tastes and rate of discovery has scaled hugely since I took out my first sub. In my head it's like having the keys to the record store after closing time. I hope it doesn't fragment like the video streaming industry.