The cliché “everything worthwhile in life is free” appears to be true, which explains why Spotify is suddenly allowing me to access premium features without paying for a premium subscription. If you’re unfamiliar with the word, Spotify is a free music streaming service that you may use at any time. As with the majority of other big streaming services, the company offers a free trial period that enables consumers to acquire a feel for the service without paying a dime. Naturally, there are several caveats to this. To begin, you will be unable to search for and pick individual music unless you have a paid subscription. At the very least, the company’s website indicates that you should not be able to.
While free users can only listen to songs from specified playlists, I’ve had no issue all day searching for songs from any album I’ve wished to listen to thus far (like my current jam Motion by Emotional Oranges). This should not be something I can do without paying a monthly subscription cost. Apart from being served an annoyance of commercials in between songs, I should also be served an annoyance of advertisements in between songs, however, this has not occurred in the last few hours that I’ve been jamming out.
What Exactly Is Spotify?
Spotify is a music-streaming service that was created by Swedish business Spotify AB in October 2008. It originated in Sweden and has since developed into the global phenomenon that we are acquainted with. It is currently available in 79 countries on five continents, extending its reach globally. Spotify, the world’s largest and most popular music streaming service, claims to have 286 million monthly active users. Subscribers to Spotify Premium account for 130 million of these total subscribers.
Additionally, the site presently has more than 50 million tracks, which is an incredible figure. If this is your first time using this music platform or if you’re still undecided, you’ve come to the perfect place. By the end of this article, you should have determined whether or not Spotify is a good fit for you.
How Is Spotify Operated?
It’s easy to get started with Spotify: Simply follow the steps below:
Subscribe to Spotify by visiting the website. Signing up for Facebook is highly encouraged if you don’t already have one. This will make it easier to identify and follow friends, see what they’re listening to, and exchange songs with them in the future. Choose your desired subscription level. We encourage upgrading to Spotify Premium since it unlocks additional features, is more adaptable and works on a wider variety of devices. Spotify is free to download and install the application. There are PC, iPhone/iPad, and Android phone versions available. The initial setup is very straightforward, but once you start diving into Spotify, you’ll discover that it has a lot more to offer and that it gets smarter the more you use it.
Is Spotify Music Downloadable?
Yes and no. While you can select to make music available “offline” when using Spotify Premium, this is not the same as downloading music in the classic sense. For instance, you are not permitted to attempt to circumvent the system by downloading an album and then canceling your subscription. Additionally, you will be unable to download the tracks for the purpose of burning them to a CD or copying them to another device. Spotify’s offline mode is designed to give you access to your favorite music when you’re attempting to preserve mobile data or traveling to an area with a limited internet connection.
With Spotify Premium, you can download up to 10,000 songs and listen to them simultaneously on up to five different devices. Additionally, downloading songs, albums, or playlists from Spotify is a breeze, which is a great benefit. Simply click Download next to the album you want to download and listen to it offline. You can also download the file by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner and then selecting “Download.”
How you can use Spotify?
If this is the first time you’ve heard of or discovered music streaming sites, there’s no need to be intimidated. We now live in a high-tech world where convenience is paramount. After all of this, getting started with Spotify is as straightforward as the following steps:
- Visit the Spotify website to establish a new account.
- Select a subscription type (Spotify free, Spotify Premium). The distinctions between the two will be examined in greater detail further down.
- Download the Spotify app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
- Log in to your account and launch the application.
It’s as simple as that to listen to an infinite amount of music! Now, let’s discuss what you might see when you open the app.
The Spotify Listening Experience
There are some substantial functional variations between Free Spotify and Spotify Premium’s mobile interface, most notably in terms of audio quality. While the free mobile version limits you to six skips per hour, the Premium edition allows you to skip as many as you want throughout the day. While skip restrictions can be inconvenient if you are constantly disinclined to listen to specific randomized music, they are a small annoyance that is easily overlooked.
With Spotify Premium, you can listen offline
You may download an infinite quantity of music and listen to it offline with Spotify Premium. This is an excellent feature to have on long flights or if you want to turn off your data while away from home. Because Free Spotify does not allow for music downloads, you may end up spending more for data consumption than you would with a Premium membership. There are fewer distinctions between Free Spotify and Spotify Premium content on the desktop version of the Spotify app. For instance, on the desktop client, you may select any single song and play it as many times as you wish, regardless of whether you have Spotify Premium or not. When using the desktop version, you will continue to view adverts on Free Spotify, and you will be unable to download music for offline listening on your computer unless you have Spotify Premium.
A Glitch in Spotify’s Free Version Allows Access to Premium Features
In the summer of 2015, a bug in Free Spotify enabled unlimited skips, song selection, and ad-free listening on both the mobile and desktop versions of the streaming service. It became essentially identical to Spotify Premium as a result of this glitch, with the exception of the option to download music for offline listening. I called Spotify customer care, who said, “To my knowledge, the Free edition includes advertisements and a limited number of skips.” Because this glitch is almost surely not going to last indefinitely, I’m going to have to proclaim the winner of the best Spotify Premium listening experience for the time being.
Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium: Identical Discovery Features
One of the most advantageous features of Spotify is the way it promotes music discovery. This is demonstrated through its algorithmically generated playlists, which are designed to recommend music based on your previous listening experience. The playlists “Discover Weekly” and “Daily Mix” are often updated with new selections. If you truly dislike a recommended song or artist, you may tap a button to instruct the app to refrain from playing that sort of music in the future or to completely remove the artist from your profile. Each week, a news release from an artist you follow is added to the “Release Radar” playlist.
A Standout Feature Of Spotify Is Available To Both Free And Premium Users
Spotify’s Browse tab features a plethora of genres, moods, and other categories, and it is from here that you can listen to its editorial playlists and discover new music. Additionally, based on your listening activity, it will recommend editorial playlists to you and will create “Radio” playlists for each song, artist, album, and the playlist you listen to. When you create a new playlist on Spotify, the algorithm recommends music based on the playlist’s title and the songs you’ve previously added. Whether or whether you have a Spotify Premium subscription, these discovery tools are available and highly handy.
Whether it’s free or paid, you’ll have access to the same social features
However, times have changed drastically since my father would purchase the latest Neil Young record on vinyl and play it with his buddies in front of his living room turntable. Of course, people continue to meet in present times to listen to music—through presumably not as regularly as they will in 2022. Even if you’re pent up at home, there’s something magical about spreading the social benefits of music. Spotify makes use of a variety of technologies on its site to encourage music sharing, and none of these services require a Premium subscription.
Take Advantage of Spotify’s Collaborative Playlists
To create collaborative playlists, choose “Collaborative Playlist” from the drop-down menu in the top-right corner of your screen (on mobile devices) or adjacent to the playlist title (on desktop computers). Following that, you can share the playlist’s link with your friends. They will have the ability to add and remove songs as needed from the playlist. Anyone with access to the connection may do so, and the connection is private unless another party has access to it. When you and your roommates throw a party or embark on a road trip with friends, collaborative playlists are an excellent way to involve everyone.
To be honest, they’re even beneficial when you want to regularly share music with someone. Similarly, if you have a Premium Family or Premium Duo subscription, Spotify will automatically create a “Family Mix” or “Duo Mix” of songs based on the listening history of all family or duo members. This isn’t technically a social feature, as the playlists are created by Spotify rather than the users, but I’m not going to hold it against Free Spotify for not including it in the trial edition.
Certain genres of music may be unavailable if you do not subscribe to the premium service
The free edition of Spotify pays artists less per stream than the premium version. Spotify now permits artists to install a paywall on their work. For the first two weeks following its release to address this gap. If an artist chooses this option, their release will be available only to Premium subscribers for the first two weeks following its general release.
If you value having access to all of the latest releases, this may be a reason to subscribe to Spotify Premium. Additionally, if you set a premium on the amount of money paid to your favorite artists, Premium is significantly superior in this regard. The accompanying figure illustrates the average amount paid to artists by Spotify for each stream.
Premium Memberships Are Available at Various Price Points, while Free Membership Is Always Free
Spotify Premium subscriptions are offered in four distinct flavors, with several of them offering significant discounts. Spotify Premium Individual is the more affordable of the two versions, costing $9.99 a month. This purchase entitles you to all Premium features, including no commercial interruptions, on-demand playback, and music download for offline listening. Students studying full-time in classes at an accredited school or college. They should be eligible for the $4.99 per month Premium Student subscription.
Not only does this contain all of the benefits of Spotify Premium. But it also includes a subscription to SHOWTIME. And the ad-supported version of Hulu if you are a student in the United States (if available).
Premium Duo is a shared Premium account that enables you and your live-in partner to share a Premium account. It will cost you $12.99 a month and will provide you and your spouse with separate accounts. Along with the other Premium features, you can participate in Duo Mix. You and your buddy can both access the “Duo Mix” portion of the mobile app’s “Made for You” page, select Join Duo Mix. And then click the three dots at the bottom of the screen. Spotify will produce a playlist based on an algorithmic design that is appealing to both you and your partner.
You can alter the mix to be more chill or more cheery depending on your mood. Additionally, you can remove any explicit tracks from the mix if you like. As a result, you may determine which listening behavior inspired the song. By looking at your or your partner’s profile photo next to each song.
Spotify Has A Family Plan, A Couples Plan, And A Student Plan
Spotify Premium Family is relatively identical to Spotify Premium Duo. Due to the need that all members reside at the same address. In comparison, Premium Family allows you to have up to six distinct accounts for $14.99 per month. Parents can restrict access to explicit music for specific family members. While children can use their Premium Family account on the Spotify Kids app to listen to music they pick.
The “Family Mix” is a custom mix similar to the “Duo Mix” that is available. In addition to all of the other regular Premium features for you and your family to enjoy. While all of these subscription alternatives are excellent, nothing tops the value of a free download. You should choose Free Spotify if the freedom from having to spend a percentage of your monthly income. It justifies putting up with the service’s commercials, lack of features. And inconveniences. Otherwise, Spotify Premium is the superior option.
Conclusion:
This article has talked about the Spotify app that lets you enjoy free music. And how to get a premium feature. You can read all the details to enjoy premium features. Keep sending us your suggestions or feedback. Until the next time, Goodbye!