Streaming service tests cheap subscription for 99 cents
Spotify could become significantly cheaper for casual listeners. In the USA, the provider is testing a new plus tariff for 99 cents.
So far there is already the possibility to listen to Spotify for free. However, this is more of a form of radio. Users cannot specifically select songs for playback, and skipping tracks is also limited to six skips per hour. Albums and playlists are not played in sequence, but in shuffle mode. Only in 15 playlists provided by Spotify can free-listeners select the tracks specifically.
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Spotify Plus removes the most noticeable restrictions on the free tariff
On the other hand, there is Spotify Premium, the service with which users have full control, but have to pay for it from 10 euros per month. If you only listen to music occasionally, you might find the amount too high. And in fact, there has to be a certain amount of usage time so that a monthly invested tens, which could also soon become a 911, appears justified.
In the USA, Spotify is currently testing a new subscription model with a small number of randomly selected users of the free tariff. Spotify offers test participants the so-called plus tariff for 99 cents. It is absolutely not equivalent to the premium plan, but it removes the most painful restrictions of the free tariff.
Spotify makes this offer to some users in the USA. (Screenshots: Spotify / The Verge)
This includes skipping titles, which is unlimited in the Plus tariff. In addition, users can select specific pieces for playback and are no longer limited to shuffle mode. However, they still have to tolerate advertising.
Spotify clarifies the purely test character of the action
This significantly better control over the background noise at home could well turn some free users into new subscribers – especially for the price of 99 cents. As The Verge reports, Spotify does not always suggest a round dollar in a random selection. By spreading possible prices, the service wants to find out where the “sweet spot” is, i.e. at which price users are still ready to take out and at which price no longer.
Whether the test will become a regular offer is completely unclear, as Spotify points out to The Verge. After all, a new and low-priced offer could also make existing customers rethink their premium tariffs. That would certainly not be in the interest of the streaming provider.
