Spotify goes free with new streaming tier on tablets, smartphones…with a caveat

From 9to5Google:

Spotify fans the world over take note, the company is moving into the ad-supported model with a new app for both iOS, Android tablets and smartphones. The company is introducing a whole new tier of service on mobile, providing users an opportunity to listen and search for songs on the go for free with a small catch.

In fact, this is the very same service Spotify offers users on the PC, now available for your Android or iOS tablet. The new tier will be available on smartphones, but with a caveat. On smartphones, the free version requires some “shuffling,” literally. You can listen to the artist of your choice, but here’s the caveat: you can only do so by shuffling through that particular artists catalog of music. The good news is that you can skip through songs you don’t want to hear and add the music you want to a new playlist.

Previously, Spotify’s ad-free tier could access streaming options and skip through a handful of tracks. Only Spotify’s $9.99 per month premium users could search and play songs on demand. Spotify’s Daniel Ek indicated that it was no longer smart to distinguish between PCs and tablets.

Spotify’s live-event is still streaming so keep checking as more details are revealed for this new tier of service.