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In an exciting move for its free users, Spotify has announced enhancements to its service, following the much-anticipated launch of lossless streaming for paid subscribers. On Monday, the company revealed that free users worldwide can now search for and play any song they desire, as well as enjoy tracks shared by friends or artists on social media.

The new features are aptly named “Pick Play,” “Search Play,” and “Share Play.” With Pick Play, free users can simply hit play in the Spotify app to select any song they want or search for a specific track to listen to. Meanwhile, Share Play encourages users to engage with music they discover on social media platforms. For example, Instagram allows users to share a Spotify track to their Stories with sound, as well as share music through Instagram Notes.

Previously, free users were limited to shuffling songs with a restricted number of skips on mobile devices. While Spotify is rolling out these new features globally, some limitations will still apply to free users that do not affect Premium subscribers. When contacted for clarification, the company informed TechCrunch that free mobile users will have a set amount of “on-demand time.” Once they reach this daily limit, they will be restricted to a limited number of skips per hour. Although Spotify did not disclose the exact time limit, it emphasized that Premium users will not face these restrictions.

In recent months, Spotify has faced challenges with its advertising business. CEO Daniel Ek acknowledged to investors that the company has been “moving too slowly” in this area. Spotify aims for ad revenue to constitute 20% of its overall income, but as of June, it has only reached 11%. By introducing new features for free users, Spotify hopes to enhance engagement within this segment, potentially increasing ad exposure.

Looking ahead, Spotify has indicated that certain features, such as support for lossless streaming, AI Playlists, and Mix, will remain exclusive to Premium subscribers. However, features like the recently launched Messages and personalized playlist daylist will be available to both free and paid users, as they have been previously. Currently, free users represent a significant portion of Spotify‘s user base, with 433 million out of 696 million monthly active users being free, ad-supported customers, alongside 276 million Premium subscribers in the last quarter.

Updated after publication with additional details regarding the restrictions affecting free users.

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