Spotify to expand to 85 new markets in ‘next few days’

Spotify is expanding to 85 new markets in the coming few days, the company’s co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek announced at its online-only Stream On event on Monday.

The audio streaming platform will expand to new markets across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and Latin America to include around 178 countries across the world. Spotify had been present in 93 markets including India prior to the announcement. The new markets include countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan and Nigeria.

It will offer both Spotify Free and Spotify Premium plans in the new markets and Individual, Family, Duo, and Student Spotify plans in select markets, it said.

Consumers in these new markets will be able to access Spotify’s mobile app and its web version on the browser. It will launch apps for TV, consoles, speakers, wearables, and cars in the “coming months”.

The platform also announced other plans for expansion including the addition of more languages, new tools and features for listeners as well as artists and creators.

For listeners

Spotify's global music catalogue will be available in the new 85 markets. It will also work with rights holders to expand its local offerings.

Spotify's chief freemium business officer Alex Norstrom further announced at the event that Spotify will now be available in 36 new languages including Hindi.

The platform also announced a new premium subscription offering for listeners called Spotify HiFi. Spotify HiFi is a lossless tier that will provide Hi-Fi audio upgrade to listeners enabling them to listen to CD-quality audio on their devices. HiFi audio will be available later this year in select markets, Spotify said.

Currently, platforms such as Tidal and Amazon Music have launched hi-fi audio subscriptions.

Spotify also announced a new podcast ‘Renegades: Born in the USA’ hosted by President Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen for listeners, provide insights into how audio will add a new dimension to the DC Comics Universe, and a brand new partnership with AGBO, Anthony and Joe Russo’s entertainment company.

For artists and creators

For creators and artists, the platform will offer more ways to connect with the audience. Buckling down on podcasts, the platform will introduce new ways in which creators can monetise podcasts on the platform.

The company has announced a new Spotify Audience Network offering for advertisers to reach listeners across Spotify's own original and exclusive podcasts along with podcasts through Anchor, a Spotify company and its recent acquisition Megaphone, and ad-supported music.

It is also expanding its self-serve ad platform Spotify Ad Studio to include podcasts, starting with exclusive and original podcasts in the United States with plans to extend it to third-party podcasts in the future.

Anchor is also partnering with WordPress to enable bloggers to publish their written content as a podcast with a few clicks.

It will start testing the ability for creators to add videos to their podcasts while publishing them through Anchor in the coming months. It will also carry out a broader roll-out of its interactivity features such as Polls and Q&A for these creators.

It is also expanding its Spotify Clips feature for artists and creators. Spotify Clips is similar to “Stories” on platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram.

Only select creators with a Spotify for Artists page will be able to access the feature.