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| Spotify is testing a less restrictive plan for $0.99 |
Spotify is testing Spotify Plus, a new low-cost subscription plan that combines elements of the existing free and premium plans.
And the plan still has ads like the free plan on Spotify. However, this plan does not impose a limit on the number of routes that can be skipped per hour.
Users also have the freedom to choose the specific songs they want to hear instead of constantly switching between albums and playlists.
Spotify Plus is advertised at $0.99 per month (one-tenth of the $9.99 cost for the Standard Premium plan). But the test is to randomly offer new packages at different prices to gauge user interest.
The platform's free plan has been available in its current form since 2018. Users are not allowed to skip more than six tracks per hour.
In addition, they can only select and listen to specific tracks from 15 selected playlists, from playlists selected by the publisher to collections built through algorithms.
In addition to these playlists, free users can play songs randomly. The new Spotify Plus plan is a relatively inexpensive way to reduce some of these limitations.
Spotify is testing the Spotify Plus plan
The platform confirmed the test in a statement. A company spokesperson said: “We have worked hard to improve the experience and conduct regular testing to make our decision. We are currently testing an ad-supported subscription plan with a limited number of users.
However, the platform cautioned that there is no guarantee that the new plan will reach the market in its current form. "Some of the tests are paving the way for new products or improvements," she said. Others can only provide lessons. We currently have no more information to share.
The platform has a habit of testing new features a few years before its launch. The best example of this is the lossless audio streaming that the platform has been testing since 2017.
Although the service officially announced the lossless hi-fi category earlier this year. But it is not available yet.
Other tests include Snapchat-like stories for selecting playlists and visual quote cards for podcasts that are no longer visible in the app.