Skip to main content

Spotify to start dropping invite-only, will offer 6-month trials (Update)

spotify-founders-logo-650x439Spotify’s making some moves lately to grab new users. In addition to the announced partnership with Facebook at F8, the Swedish-founded music streaming service may be dropping the exclusive, invitation-only barrier and will be setting up a six month trial period.

Boasting over 10 million users in Europe, Spotify’s launch in the US was eagerly anticipated earlier this year. However, those who didn’t want to shell out the $4.99 for subscription were cast off into invite-only land. Now, according to TechCrunch that may have all changed. Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek says the the invite-only hassle will be getting dropped in the US.

“For music to be inherently social it needs to be an open model, and that’s why we decided to do it today,” Spotify representive Angela Watts stated.

Unpaid users, both internationally and in the United States, will have no barriers to using the services. Members will have to sign in to their Facebook account in order to circumvent the need for an invite.

Once the six months expire, free users will most likely lose offline playback and have to suffer through ads. Free limits users to a monthly playback allotment of 10 hours, so be wary that using the Facebook Spotify app will count to that limit. If you decide that the service is worth paying for, Spotify has a $4.99 ad-free plan and the $9.99 premium.

Spotify made its debut in the US earlier this year on July 14. Once it landed here, 1.4 million joined the service in less than a month with more than half paying for subscription. Recently, Pandora revamped their website and removed the 40-hour listening limit to keep up with music streaming competition it was facing.

Update. A spotify representative sent over an email clarifying the new service offer:

“All Spotify accounts come with a 6-month time-limit honeymoon! During this time, there’s no limit to the amount of ad-supported music you can enjoy. After 6 months, you’ll be limited to 10 hours of streaming a month and a 5-play limit for any individual track. Unless, of course, you’ve subscribed by then!”

For European users still in their first six months of free service, you’ll get moved to the unlimited free product for the remainder of your six months. After that six months, the usual limits will apply.

Editors' Recommendations

Jeff Hughes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a SF Bay Area-based writer/ninja that loves anything geek, tech, comic, social media or gaming-related.
When is Prime Day 2023? Dates confirmed for the shopping event
Best Prime Day 2022 Deals graphic with multiple products.

After weeks of speculation, we finally know when Prime Day 2023 is kicking off. Amazon has announced that the event will start July 11 at 3AM ET and will run through July 12. As always, Prime members can score some fantastic deals from the sale with popular brands like Peloton, Victoria's Secret, YETI, and Sony just some of the names being touted by Amazon as featuring in the big sale. Members will also be able to shop more deals on small business products than ever before too. As always, expect great discounts on Amazon-owned properties like Kindles, Ring doorbells, Amazon Echo units, and so much more. It's the sale we've all been waiting for since Black Friday.

The Prime Day deals promise to drop every 30 minutes during select periods with deep discounts expected. Select discounts on other Amazon-related things are already available such as 20% off in-store purchases at

Read more
Another big sale is happening at the same time as Prime Day
A variety of electronic devices in open boxes.

Target just revealed that Target Circle Week will run from July 9 to July 15, overlapping with Amazon's Prime Day that's scheduled for July 11 to July 12.

The big sale event will be open to members of the retailer's Target Circle loyalty program, who will be able to receive discounts of up to 50% for certain items. If you're not yet a member, don't worry -- you can join at any time, and membership is free. Once you've signed up, you'll be able to earn 1% from every purchase to redeem at a later time, access exclusive deals, and get 5% off for your birthday, among other benefits.

Read more
The best free parental control software for PC, Mac, iOS, and Android
Man using computer.

Everything in this world has gone digital, and that includes homework (if you have kids). If your children are young, you’re probably not giving them laptops or free rein of the family computer yet. You’re also probably not always able to monitor their screen activity, either.

That’s where parental control software comes in handy. Such software helps keep your kids safe from the dark web, and there are usually free options available for all operating systems. Keep reading to find out more.
Built-in OS features
Giving your kids technology designed for their age group is an excellent first step toward keeping them safe online. When they have access to more general computing devices, you can leverage parental control features built right into the operating system. The parental controls for both Windows and macOS provide a convenient and acceptable means for restricting web access and chat functionality, and give parents the ability to view detailed logs and monitor email exchanges.
Microsoft Family Safety

Read more