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Spotify U.S. Users: Say Goodbye To Free Music

image from www.google.comJust six months a ago Spotiify launched with great fanfare in the U.S.  Hundreds of thousands signed up to enjoy unlimited free music.  An integration with Facebook brought even higher numbers. But the free music party is about to crash and the warning light is right inside Spotify's terms of service:

The Spotify Service can be accessed (i) as an ad-supported free-to-the-user service having no monthly cap on listening hours or a cap on number of plays of a unique track during the first 6 months following creation of your Spotify account but thereafter a cap of 10 listening hours per month and a cap of 5 plays per unique track (the “Free Service”)

The big question for Spotify is how many will convert or a $5 or $10 per month paid subscriptions. Will they put up with the 10 hour per month limits? Or will they just shift to anther free music services like MOG, Rdio or even Pandora?

The answers to these questions, will go a long way towards determining Spotify's future.


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18 Comments

  1. Yeah – surely you knew this was coming?
    In Europe they managed to push people to convert into premium subscribers after they had a taste of the good stuff for free (for the previous year or two).
    Spotify are actually one of the best examples of push freemium around…

  2. I just hated the idea that you could only access the service thru your Facebook account, I signed off Facebook since I find it extremely uncool.
    Now this is just one more sign of spotfy being a desperate idea to make money somehow…

  3. I will most likely switch to another free service when my time is up. I have an account with Pandora and like it just fine. Only reason I added Spotify in the first place was because one of my favorite local bands is on there. But I can always download their music from reverbnation.

  4. Bruce – were the TOS recently updated with this — or has this been there the whole time? Guess you’re the first person to actually read the terms…? Last update shows Effective as from 30 November 2011. So if the change was on 30 November, then does the clock start for 30 November or from account activation date retroactively? At any rate, the paid service is the way to go — I’ve paid since day 1. *j

  5. You have to pay for Rdio too…
    None of these streaming services will every be able sustain an ad free, limit free service that’s not supplemented by a monthly fee.
    At this point it’s just a matter of who’s interface/service you like best.

  6. The more paid users there are, the more the artists make. Of course, if as an artist you don’t own the majority of your rights, then you make less…regardless of the method of distro, physical/digital sale.
    Spotify needs to be more transparent to both consumers and artists in how this works, it’s not as simple as buying a download or cd, but there’s a way to explain it that isn’t rocket science, and in the end has the potential to work very well for the artist.
    Right now it’s tough because it’s at odds with the old model…they’re just two different beasts. I understand both sides of the argument though…

  7. There will ALWAYS be someone willing to give their music away for free. Rookies, amateurs, hobbyists, etc. The professionals won’t be able to continue because they need to eat & pay health bills, but the amateurs will gladly release for free because they have 9 to 5 jobs. Music is a hobby to them. The end result = amateur (shitty) music. This shift has already taken place & is becoming more apparent by the day.

  8. Lame..i knew this was too good to last. I loved the fact that u could choose the songs on almost any album free. I’m just not willing to pay a monthly fee for it. Guess its back to Pandora.

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