US: Spotify under pressure to restrict free streaming tier

Spotify is reportedly under pressure from music labels to revamp its free and premium tiers, potentially limiting access to certain music for paying customers only.

A report in Digital Music News, citing unnamed sources, says the big reason for the potential change is the fact that Spotify’s licensing deals with the big three music labels — Universal, Sony and Warner — expire Oct.1, and the labels may be pushing for changes to the company’s pricing model in order to re-sign with the music streaming service.

Spotify has 75 millions users, but only 20 million are paying customers. The vast majority use the streaming company’s free tier, which requires users to listen to ads.

Some high-profile artists, including Taylor Swift, have been publicly critical of Spotify due to its free listening tier. Swift pulled her music from Spotify last year, but has since signed an exclusive deal with Apple Music, the Cupertino, Calif., computer company’s streaming service that launched in June. Apple Music has no free tier.

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