You can now get Spotify for less than £1, but there’s a catch

A number of people who want to stream music are caught between a rock and a hard place, when it comes to the world’s most popular audio subscription service. Spotify does offer completely free access to anyone – with no payment or subscription needed. However, in return you’ll have to sit through loads of adverts, play tracks in random order, can only skip six tracks per hour, can’t download songs to listen offline, and can’t select specific songs to play outside of a limited selection of 15 playlists.

In short, it’s a pretty unpleasant experience.

On the other hand, Spotify Premium hands you the key to its entire library of music, playlists, albums, and exclusive podcasts. But at a hefty £9.99 per month – almost £120 per year, it’s an expensive option. With so many other subscriptions to keep up with, many are questioning whether it’s worth it.

So, it’s perhaps no surprise that Spotify has been testing out a third option – aside from its free and Premium accounts – for those who don’t want to deal with all of the hassle of the first, or the cost of the latter.

The new cheaper subscription is called Spotify Plus and looks set to boost the free tier with some premium options. Although nothing is confirmed yet, Plus is reportedly being advertised at $0.99 per month (£0.71) – what a bargain!

What will you get for the money? Spotify Plus will let you pick specific songs and skip as many as you like. This is a huge bonus over the free tier, meaning you can listen to just that one earworm or skip the boring album tracks. You’ll also get access to more playlists, including Spotify’s own curated genre and mood collections.

The new offering from Spotify might be a way to stand out from rival streaming services like Apple Music and Tidal. Both of these only offer plans starting at £9.99 per month, with Tidal cranking up the price even higher to £19.99 for its top sound quality option.