Every streaming service needs a Plus, it seems. Spotify Plus is the latest combatant in the war, or at least it is for those users lucky enough to have found themselves offered this new feature that Spotify is testing.
Spotify confirmed to The Verge that it's trialling Spotify Plus, a new $0.99 per month plan that looks to mix aspects of its current free and Spotify Premium tiers. For your monthly dollar, you'll get to skip as many songs you want, and you'll also be able to select specific songs from any and all albums and playlists. No more forced shuffling!
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Currently, those not paying for Spotify gets six track skips per hour, and the ability to select specific songs is limited to 15 of Spotify's editorially and algorithmically curated playlists.
That $0.99 per month price isn't locked in, though. Apparently Spotify is testing Spotify Plus for a number of different price tiers, to see how much users will spend on the package.
Spotify Plus still packs ads, though, so don't expect to be trusted to DJ a party. This is nothing exactly new on the market — just look at HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock and Paramount Plus.
No other streaming music competitor has this sort of mid-range tier offering. You're usually either paying to delete ads, or you're not spending money and hearing them. That includes Apple Music and all three of Amazon's paid music subscription tiers (Amazon Music Prime, Amazon Music Unlimited and Amazon Music HD).
This offering would help Spotify stand out, giving users more control for one-tenth of the price of its premium plan.
That said, don't bet on Spotify Plus actually coming to fruition any time soon, as a test doesn't necessarily guarantee an eventual product. A spokesperson told The Verge that "Some tests end up paving the way for new offerings or enhancements while others may only provide learnings. We don’t have any additional information to share at this time."
Most recently, Spotify announced Spotify HiFi, a lossless audio tier that ... still hasn't arrived yet.
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