Spotify to limit free streaming accounts

There has been some HUGE news today about Spotify's music service. The company that have delighted consumers by offering ad supported, free music streaming over the past few years are changing the parameters of their this service.

Here’s an overview of  the changes:

• New Spotify users will be able to enjoy our unrivalled free service as it is today for the first 6 months.

• As of May 1st, any user who signed up to the free service on or before November 1st 2010 will be able to play each track for free up to a total of 5 times. Users who signed up after the beginning of November will see these changes applied 6 months after the time they set up their Spotify account.

• Additionally, total listening time for free users will be limited to 10 hours per month after the first 6 months. That’s equivalent to around 200 tracks or 20 albums.

These changes don't come as a surprise to me. Recently I looked into the cost of creating my own online music store (it's expensive) and was told from all of my sources of information that Spotify had been running at a huge loss. That only it's angel investors (which include all the major record labels) had kept it afloat.

The harsh truth that consumers have to face is the music industry IS a business and it DOES need your money to stay afloat. So I'm sure the musician's/record labels around the globe will rejoice at this news. Your average consumer is likely to meet this news with a drastically different view and many have already called it "the death of Spotify".

But for everyone it's a question  of how much you value music. Is £9.99 a month too much to pay to have 10 million songs on tap? It's your decision.

Click here to see the blog post from Spotify