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January 16, 2014

Spotify removes time restrictions for free users

The music streaming service has lifted time restrictions for the free desktop player.

By Kate Heslop

Spotify has removed its streaming limit for free users on its desktop version.

Previously Spotify’s free web users could enjoy unlimited listening for six months, before being limited to only 2.5 hours per week. This was to encourage users to upgrade to Spotify’s paid services.

Spotify announced on its website that it was eliminating limits, with the hashtag #freeyourmusic. The company says that users can now get Spotify for free on mobile devices, and time restrictions had been scrapped. However, non-paying users will still have to listen to adverts in between songs.

Spotify says in the statement on their website: "In the past, we had to restrict your listening time to some hours a month once a 6-month unlimited grace period had passed. But now, if you haven’t noticed, there’s no more time limit if you are using Spotify for free. We have removed these caps completely across all platforms – you can listen to your favourite songs as many times as you like, for as long as you want.

"That’s right, no more time limits.

"Music makes you happy – why limit your happiness? #FreeYourMusic"

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Non-paying web users were also previously limited to listening to songs five times, however this was removed in March for UK users.

Due to around $250m in funding, it is alleged that Spotify now has enough server space to allow non-paying users to have unlimited access to music.

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