Spotify has announced plans to expand to over 80 more countries in more than 36 new languages, meaning that the massive streaming platform will have access to 173 markets in total. These 80 markets alone host around a billion people, with close to half having internet access. Many of these markets are in Africa, South East Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America.
“Spotify will be expanding into more than 80 new markets worldwide. With these launches, we’re on our way to turning on all of the key remaining markets where we don’t have Spotify today,” the company’s Chief Freemium Business Officer, Alex Norström said during the company’s Stream On event.
The service will launch with Free and Premium plans in all markets, however Individual, Family, Duo, and Student Plan options will be offered in select markets. Spotify has also announced a new HiFi service that will launch in select markets later this year. The company has also been toying with implementing some new features, including way to help monitor speech to suggest new music. Other plans involve the addition of new social features, such as the ability for users to comment on a track.
Other changes that have been announced earlier this year include a price increase, which was confirmed by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek during reported meeting with investors. This announcement followed news that the company experienced massive operating losses for 2020, with these shortfalls quadrupling year-over-year compared to 2019. Despite Ek’s statement regarding a price-increase, he has called the platform a “multi-billion user opportunity,” in the long-term.
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