Months after implementing restrictions on some key features for Indian users, Spotify has not seen any drastic change in revenue numbers or its user base in the country and is focused on striking a balance between its free and premium services, a senior executive of the music streaming platform said.
“We always want to offer a great free service and will obviously keep calibrating because ultimately, we are also running a business here. So, we are going to calibrate between free and paid in such a way that we want to keep our free business growing and also keep our premium business growing,” Amarjit Singh Batra, managing director of Spotify India, said during a fireside chat at the India Digital Summit 2024 in Mumbai.
Batra added that despite initial questions from users, the overall response to the service has been positive and its objective remains to attract users to free music and gradually transition them to paid services, aligning with the industry trend.
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Reflecting the dissatisfaction of users with the restrictions, the Spotify app, previously rated over 4 stars on the Google Play Store, has now dropped to 2.3 stars.
In October 2023, the Swedish company introduced restrictions for free users in India, including those on playing songs in a specific order, repeat songs, or access previous songs with a tap. These features are now exclusive to its premium subscribers. However, free users can still listen to their favourite artists, playlists, and receive recommendations.
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Batra’s comments come at a time when Spotify's fourth-quarter financial numbers highlighted a 23% increase in total monthly active users to 602 million globally, surpassing both company guidance and analysts' forecasts. Its premium subscribers rose by 15% to 236 million, exceeding estimated figures.
In an earlier interview with ET, Batra acknowledged the challenge of convincing Indian users to pay for music, particularly when they enjoy a free, unrestricted experience on the app. This contrasts with free services in other markets.
The company underwent its third round of layoffs in December 2023, resulting in around 17% of its employees being laid off globally.
