Spotify has eliminated restrictions that prevented free customers from listening to particular tracks. With Lossless audio now lastly rolling out to paying subscribers, the music streaming service has announced that it’s additionally permitting non-paying listeners to look, play, and share any track they need, with out having to improve to a Premium subscription.
The replace is being rolled out globally and addresses probably the most annoying limitations of Spotify’s shuffle-only free expertise. As a substitute of enjoying the particular track a free consumer had looked for or chosen in an album or playlist, Spotify would beforehand launch tracks in a randomized order that pressured customers to skip songs till they reached the one they really wished to play, with skips restricted to 6 per hour.
Now, non-paying customers can “choose and play any track you need,” based on Spotify. There are nonetheless some restrictions in place, nonetheless, with CNET reporting that free customers can solely hear to at least one track earlier than the app begins shuffling, and an undisclosed restrict on what number of on-demand minutes a consumer has per day, based on Music Business Worldwide. We’ve reached out to Spotify for remark and can replace if the corporate responds.
The free expertise may also nonetheless embrace adverts, however this replace offers free listeners fewer causes to make use of rival streaming companies like YouTube after they wish to play a particular track with out dancing round shuffle-skipping necessities. This additionally helps Spotify’s need to get customers sharing music hyperlinks on-line, on condition that non-paying customers beforehand couldn’t instantly play songs that associates had shared on social media platforms.