Spotify upgrades free tier with on-demand playback features

Spotify has rolled out major upgrades to its free mobile app, giving ad-supported users more control with on-demand music playback. The changes, announced on September 15, 2025, mark a departure from the platform’s long-standing shuffle-only model for free listeners.

The first update allows free users to “pick and play” specific tracks within any playlist or album tracklist. Previously, free mobile users were limited to shuffle mode, which made song order random without options to select individual tracks. Now, while playlists and albums still default to shuffle, users can manually choose and play any song on demand from those lists. However, there’s a daily limit on on-demand playback minutes, and features like queuing songs remain exclusive to Premium subscribers.

Two additional on-demand features have been added for free users. “Search & Play” lets users search for individual songs and play them immediately, enabling active discovery rather than passive listening. “Share & Play” allows tracks shared via messages, social media, or Spotify’s new direct messaging feature to be played right away on mobile devices. This was previously only available on desktop or tablet versions.

These enhancements aim to boost user engagement, increase ad revenues, retain free users, and encourage conversions to paid subscriptions. Spotify’s VP of Markets and Subscriptions, Gustav Gyllenhammar, described the updates as a “glow up” for the freemium model. “By opening up and widening the experience on free, we’re able to accelerate growth of our free tier, both from a number of users as well as engagement,” he said.

The decision was partly driven by feedback from younger users, particularly Gen Z, who found the old free mobile experience frustrating. “Young users felt like the old Spotify free experience on mobile was almost broken,” Gyllenhammar explained. “They tried to tap on things, and it didn’t work. The behavior that young users have in their media consumption models today – they really expect this to work.”

For example, with Search & Play, users can now instantly access a new release they’ve heard about on TikTok or from friends. Gyllenhammar gave the hypothetical of Ed Sheeran dropping a new song: “You can search for the song name, and you can play that song.” Share & Play addresses past annoyances where shared links wouldn’t play immediately on free mobile apps.

Spotify tested these features in emerging markets for 18 months before the global launch. Results showed improved retention among free users and higher conversion rates to Premium. The company notes that 60 percent of its Premium subscribers started on the free tier, making these improvements key to long-term growth.
The updates come amid growing competition from platforms like YouTube and TikTok, which attract younger audiences with flexible, on-demand content. Spotify hopes the changes will help it compete by aligning with modern user expectations.

On the Premium side, Spotify recently introduced a playlist mixing tool and lossless audio for paid users. These are not part of a rumored “super-premium” or “Music Pro” tier, despite earlier reports suggesting such a plan. Bloomberg reported in February 2025 that Spotify was considering an add-on costing up to $5.99 more per month for “superfan” perks.

Gyllenhammar addressed the subscription roadmap, saying, “Together with our industry partners, we still have a job to do to come up with more interesting and exciting products that we could layer on top of the current subscription landscape.” He pointed to Tencent Music Entertainment’s Super VIP tier in China, which has over 15 million subscribers and generates five times the revenue of regular ones, as a potential model.

These freemium changes also benefit Spotify’s advertising business. With more engaged free users spending additional time on the platform—and focusing on specific songs—ad performance is expected to improve. “We can now have much higher-performing advertising units for our users,” Gyllenhammar said. “So we feel strongly that this should be something that can drive accelerated profitability and revenue generation on the free tier from advertisers.”

Spotify’s Q2 2025 financials reflect steady growth. Premium subscribers reached 276 million, up 8 million from Q1’s 268 million. Total monthly active users, including free and paid, hit 696 million, an 11 percent year-over-year increase and 18 million more than Q1. Ad-supported revenue grew to €453 million ($514 million), up 5 percent year-over-year on a constant currency basis, driven by music and podcast ads.

Last month, Spotify launched in-app direct messaging for all users, receiving mixed reactions. Some praised the social feature, while others criticized it for potential privacy issues or clutter.
Overall, these updates signal Spotify’s push to evolve its free tier while teasing future premium innovations. As Gyllenhammar noted, enhancing the free experience is “another part of why this move is important for us,” positioning the company for sustained growth in a competitive streaming market.