Music just wants to be free — or at least, that's the way Spotify seems to see it. The streaming music company lifted all time restrictions on its streaming services Wednesday.
Under the slogan "No. More. Limits." the company wrote on its website: "We have removed … caps completely across all platforms – you can listen to your favourite songs as many times as you like, for as long as you want. That's right, no more time limits." (Via Spotify)
The last platforms to get the free treatment were the Web and desktop offerings, which had their time limitations lifted with this recent move.
It comes after two similar moves in just over a month: launching free ad-supported versions of Spotify's app on tablets and on smartphones. (Via The Next Web)
And it's happening just days before the launch of high-profile competitor Beats Music.
Set to launch Jan. 21, that service was created by the same company that makes the multicolored Beats headphones and features Dr. Dre and Trent Reznor, of Nine Inch Nails fame, among its backers. (Via Beats Music)
Although it will launch with a free seven-day trial, Beats won't offer a free option after that, which is a perceived weakness Spotify might be trying to exploit with freebies. (Via Beats Music)
As The Verge notes: "The longer a person uses their service, the more likely they are to pay for that service at some point. That's one reason that Spotify has millions more users than any other on-demand music streaming service: its free offerings have always been significantly more generous than its peers."
The move also comes after the company announced a massive $250 million funding round back in November. That influx of cash might have made it a little easier to give product away, as well. (Via VentureBeat)
Now, to be clear, there were never any Web time limits for Spotify in the U.S. In other markets, however, time caps were put in place after a six-month trial period. This change removes those restrictions.
Spotify currently hosts a library of some 20 million tracks and has 24 million active users worldwide.
