Reports are circulating that in 2016 Spotify could be moving towards offering exclusive content to premium subscribers only, to avoid anymore public bust-ups with musicians and to entice major music labels to renew contracts.
Music website Digital Music News are speculating that Spotify might be moving towards offering exclusive deals for paid subscribers.
There are several rumours as to what ‘premium’ would entail, Digital Music News said Spotify could offer free users access to a few songs from a high-profile album, whereas paying subscribers could listen without restrictions. Another model could be that certain albums would be limited to only premium paying customers, or premium customers would have time-restricted exclusive to content which would then be available to all.
The rumour mill has been circulating because Spotify’s licensing deals with the Sony, Universal and Warner Bros are up for renewal on October 1st and new agreements have yet to be signed.
Another issue facing Spotify is that high-profile musicians, like Taylor Swift and Prince, have pulled their content from the platform over disputes that non-paying listeners have access to music. The logic is that offering premium-only content will attract musicians back to the platform.
B&T contacted Spotify who declined to comment.
