Spotify is finally planning to put some albums behind a Premium paywall, according to reports on Thursday.
The Verge’s sources say the company has ‘agreed to restrict’ some of the latest releases as part of its current negotiations with rights holders.
The new policy would represent a major change in tack from the streaming pioneer.
Since its inception, Spotify has stood by its strategy of making the entire library available to all users regardless of whether they were paying customers.
The firm has required non-paying listeners to contend with ads, adhere to time limits and prevented mobile users from playing songs of their choosing on mobile.
However, in one way or another, the entire library has always been available for Spotify Free and Spotify Premium customers.
This has resulted in artists like Taylor Swift opting to give Spotify the boot and sign-on with subscription-only streaming services like Apple Music and Tidal.
Spotify users (even those paying for the privilege) have missed out on content as a result.
The report on Thursday says the change is probably still months away, but the wheels appear to be in motion.
Would you welcome some Spotify music going behind a paywall? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
