A month of Spotify can cost less than the price of a coffee.
The Swedish audio streaming market leader is experimenting with a new premium formula, Spotify Plus, at $ 0.99.
Ten times less than the classic premium formula marketed at 9.99 euros per month.
The low-cost offer combines aspects of the free plan and the paid plan.
On the one hand, the advertisements will always be present, on the other hand, the user will be able to better choose what he listens to.
Unlike free users, the Spotify Plus subscriber can select the song they listen to and change as much as they want.
While the free tier users have to browse playlists and can only play a song up to six times per hour.
Called "Spotify Plus" the subscription does not remove ads.
Spotify
The discovery of Spotify Plus was made by chance, thanks to a player from the American media The Verge.
Information then confirmed by the company.
She explains, in a press release, to carry out "
regular tests
" to guide her decisions.
She specifies that this offer is being tested on "
a limited number of users
", and that various prices have been displayed in order to assess the interest shown by consumers.
But these low-cost formulas may not be generalized.
"
Some tests end up paving the way for new offers or improvements, while others only provide learning,
" warns a spokesperson.
In some cases, testing becomes real options.
This is the case with high-quality, “
lossless
”
audio streaming
, tested as early as 2017, but which was not officially announced until February of this year.
The option called HiFi is not yet available several months after the announcement.
A maximum number of users
This test was made public only a few days after the half-hearted announcement of the group's quarterly results.
On the one hand Spotify has been able to reduce its losses - 20 million euros against 365 million in 2020 - but on the other hand, the growth in its number of subscribers is lower than expected.
Paid users, the main source of income, are now 165 million (+ 20% over one year), a million less than expected.
The growth of the service appears to have reached a ceiling.
To exceed it, the leader in the field is seeking to tap into the 200 million free users, thanks to an offer at an attractive cost.
Simple advertising revenue means that these users generate only 1.37 euros per semester, against 4.29 euros for premium subscribers.
A strategy of conquest that would not prevent Spotify from subsequently raising its prices, after having attracted new users.
Spotify is not the only player in the market to play the reduced price card, to pique the interest of consumers.
Youtube admitted on Monday to test a subscription without advertising at 6.99 euros against 11.99 euros for its classic premium offer.