Spotify is implementing changes to its free tier in India, which could potentially affect the user experience. Free Spotify users in India will no longer have access to basic features such as repeat, rewinding to specific song sections, revisiting previous songs, or customizing playlist orders. These modifications appear to reflect Spotify’s aim to steer free-tier users toward considering premium subscriptions.
Furthermore, the regular shuffle feature is being replaced by ‘Smart Shuffle’ as the default playback method for free-tier users. Smart Shuffle incorporates songs outside of the user’s playlist, leveraging their listening habits. Consequently, the traditional shuffle option will no longer be available to free users.
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These adjustments are designed to encourage users to explore premium subscription alternatives. However, the removal of fundamental features such as rewind and the ability to navigate to the previous song is likely to be met with dissatisfaction among many users.
As these changes take effect in India, it remains to be seen how users will react and whether this will influence them to consider alternative music platforms that continue to provide these features for free.
It’s important to note that these changes are currently limited to India, but if Spotify is eager to encourage more users to go premium, it’s possible that similar downgrades may be introduced in other regions as well.
