Spotify is putting some listening restrictions for its free users in India.
With these limitations, the company aims to encourage more users in India to subscribe to its paid service.
The restrictions will prevent free-tier users from manually selecting songs and disable their ability to rewind, scrub, or repeat songs.
Spotify wants more people in India to pay for its music service. So, the company is putting some listening restrictions for those who use the service for free. This way, Spotify hopes that more users will decide to pay for a better experience.
According to a report by TechCrunch, Spotify has implemented feature limitations for its free-tier users in India as part of a strategy to encourage more users in the country to subscribe to its paid service.
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These restrictions, which have been introduced several years after Spotify’s launch in India in 2019, will prevent free-tier users from manually selecting songs and disable their ability to rewind, scrub, or repeat songs.
Also read: Tips and tricks to supercharge your spotify listening experience
Since its launch, the music streaming giant has provided a liberal free tier in India, allowing users to play songs in any order. However, the company has now decided to modify the free tier due to the maturation of the market.
According to Spotify, India ranks among the top five countries in terms of monthly active users on its platform. However, India does not fall within the top markets when considering the ratio of subscribers to free users, as the majority of users in the country prefer the ad-supported model.
Additionally, the company is introducing “Smart Shuffle” in India, a feature that offers song recommendations based on the user’s musical preferences and the song or playlist they are currently listening to.
“It’s to be seen if Spotify’s restrictions could push users to pay for the service or simply use another service,” an industry executive told TechCrunch.
In April, a report from the analytics firm Redseer highlighted that Spotify had emerged as the leading player in terms of the number of streams in India. It’s worth noting that this study excluded YouTube, which boasts over 450 million users in the country.
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Ayushi Jain
Tech news writer by day, BGMI player by night. Combining my passion for tech and gaming to bring you the latest in both worlds. View Full Profile
