Spotify might let popular artists restrict songs to paying subscribers

A new report has surfaced claiming Spotify might be bending to pressure from pure-pay competition like Apple Music. There are claims they are considering limiting access to music from select artists to paying customers only. This new “windowing” policy will supposedly restrict certain albums to Spotify users who pay for premium. At the moment, musicians need to release their music both for paying and free users of the service. Spotify has reportedly informed music executives about said plan.

The streaming service could test this out to see how it will affect subscriber numbers and new sign-ups. The Wall Street Journal reports Spotify currently has around 20 million paying customers and another 80 million users who listen using ad-supported, free method. There were supposedly plans to window Coldplay’s upcoming album Head Full of Dreams but negotiations fell through after the band wasn’t able to guarantee it won’t be available on other free platforms like YouTube.

Source: Wall Street Journal | Via: Apple Insider