Spotify Tightens Free Tier In India To Push Listeners Into Paying
On its third-quarter call, Spotify said it is adding friction to free listening in India and Indonesia to push more users to pay, without sharing India numbers.
Spotify reported 306 million paying subscribers worldwide for July to September, in third-quarter results published on 22 October. For India, the more useful material came on the earnings call, where the very first analyst question was about the free tier.
The analyst asked what Spotify had learnt in India and Indonesia, where it has been adding friction to ad-supported listening, and how that affects conversion to paid plans. Co-CEO Alex Norström listed the changes: cleaner data in sign-up flows, adjustments to ad load, and moving users off apps built for low-end phones onto a client that keeps them listening longer. He described all of it as "business positive" for both the free and paid tiers.
On India he was expansive. "This is an incredible market and tremendous opportunity for us," he said, pointing to several years of 7 to 8 per cent GDP growth.
The numbers
Revenue for the quarter was €5 billion, up 14 per cent at constant currency. Monthly active users rose 11 per cent to 788 million, and premium subscribers grew 9 per cent. Chief financial officer Christian Luiga said the subscriber beat was led by the rest of the world and Latin America, the bucket India sits in. Ad-supported revenue grew 9 per cent, after 3 per cent in each of the first two quarters.
Norström said fewer than 4 per cent of people worldwide pay for Spotify, and fewer than 3 per cent across emerging markets. For the October to December quarter the company expects 818 million monthly users. Luiga said that growth would be slower than last year, which had a lift from the launch of the new free tier.
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The labels' side
Indian labels have been asking platforms for a stricter free tier for some time. A listener who pays earns far more in royalties than one who hears ads. Tips founder Kumar Taurani made the wider point recently, writing in a co-authored column that the cost of acquiring music is rising faster than the industry's ability to earn from it.
Spotify gave no India user or subscriber figures. The next read comes with the fourth-quarter results.
(Source: Spotify Q3 2026 results and earnings call)
