Spotify Expands Free Tier With “Pick & Play” and New Social Sharing Features

Spotify is making its free tier more flexible with new features that allow users to directly search, play, and share songs — a major shift from the shuffle-only limitations that have long defined its free service.

Announced on Monday, the upgrades include three features:

• Pick & Play – Free users can now select and play any song on demand within the Spotify app.
• Search & Play – Users can search for specific songs and play them directly.
• Share & Play – Tracks shared by friends or artists on social platforms like Instagram can be played instantly on Spotify.

The changes mean free users no longer have to rely solely on shuffle mode with limited skips. For example, if someone sees a track shared on Instagram Stories, they can now play it directly through Spotify without restrictions.

Driving Engagement Through Free Features

Spotify says the rollout will be global and aims to increase engagement among its 433 million free, ad-supported listeners — the majority of its 696 million monthly active users. While Premium subscribers (276 million as of last quarter) still get access to lossless streaming, AI playlists, and unlimited skips, these new tools bring the free tier closer to the Premium experience.

The company’s ad-supported business has been under pressure. CEO Daniel Ek recently admitted Spotify had been “moving too slowly” on growing ad revenue, which currently makes up just 11% of total revenue, short of its 20% target. By giving free users more control and reasons to log in, Spotify hopes to expose them to more ads and, ultimately, boost ad revenue.

What Remains Premium-Only

While free users gain new flexibility, Premium subscribers will continue to enjoy exclusive features such as:

• Lossless audio streaming (newly launched)
• AI Playlists and Mix
• Ad-free listening and offline downloads

Other features, like personalized playlists (e.g., daylist) and Spotify’s new Messages function, remain available across both free and paid tiers.

Why It Matters

This expansion is Spotify’s biggest free-tier upgrade in years. By removing some of the friction that discouraged casual listeners, the company could strengthen its competitive edge against rivals like Apple Music, YouTube Music, and TikTok’s music integrations — while also laying the groundwork for stronger ad monetization.