Spotify is testing a cheaper streaming plan with fewer restrictions, though it’s still subsidised by advertisements.<\/b>
\nSpotify is testing a new low-cost subscription tier supported by advertisements, dubbed \u201cSpotify Plus\u201d. The subscription tier is described as having \u201cunlimited skips and on-demand listening\u201d, while still incorporating advertisements like what is seen on the company\u2019s free subscription tier. Currently, Spotify\u2019s free tier doesn\u2019t let users skip more than six tracks per hour. Users can also only listen to specific tracks from 15 selected playlists, from editorial-selected playlists to algorithmically generated playlists like your \u201cDiscovery Weekly\u201d and your \u201cDaily Mix\u201d playlists. Outside of that, free users can only shuffle tracks. To avoid all of that, you can subscribe to Spotify\u2019s full premium service, though it comes in at $9.99 a month. However, as reported by The Verge, Spotify\u2019s \u201cPlus\u201d tier may come in at just $0.99 a month. Other prices are, however, being tested too. Spotify confirmed to The Verge in a statement that it is \u201calways working to enhance the Spotify experience and we routinely conduct tests to inform our decisions,\u201d and that they are \u201ccurrently conducting a test of an ad-supported subscription plan with a limited number of our users.\u201d The company also confirmed that there\u2019s no guarantee that Spotify Plus will be launched in its current tier, if at all. \u201cSome tests end up paving the way for new offerings or enhancements while others may only provide learnings. We don\u2019t have any additional information to share at this time.\u201d Spotify likes to test features on end-users, some of which do find their way into the main app. For example, the company announced a new HiFi tier for lossless music streaming earlier this year, which has still yet to fully come to fruition. However, other features, like group listening music sessions were discovered early last year and are now available to all users, so it\u2019s entirely possible that this feature will eventually launch for everyone.<\/p>\n