Spotify to expand to 80 new countries, to support 36 new languages

Swedish music streaming platform Spotify has announced that it will arrive in over 80 new countries, along with rolling out 36 new languages on its platform.

Announcing this at its online event, "Stream On" late on Monday, the company said that sounds and stories that once remained local will have access to a global audience of fans across nearly 180 markets.

Spotify currently has more than 340 million active users and 150 million subscribers using its ad-free premium product across 93 countries including India.

"In each new market, we will work with local creators and partners to expand our music offerings and deliver a Spotify experience that meets the unique needs of each market," Spotify said.

"The existing rich music cultures in each of these markets will now be able to reach Spotify's global audience. All this untapped music energy and access to our innovative creator tools will help propel artists to new heights and empower them to turn their passion into a profession," the company elaborated.

Spotify will offer free and premium across all the markets. In select markets, Spotify will offer Individual, Family, Duo, and Student Plan options.

"Listeners will be able to select and search from Spotify's worldwide catalog when using the product, providing a personalized experience from day one," the company added.

The home screen will surface personalized playlist programming for new listeners.

The browse and search pages will feature worldwide content hubs, and adapt to the local market and the listener's taste the more they use the service.

At launch, Spotify will offer its full global catalog in these new markets.

The company said it will continuously work with local rights holders and partners to expand its catalog to include more local offerings.

In the majority of these markets, Spotify will launch with its full podcast catalog.

"For the others, it will work closely with local partners to introduce more podcasts from its catalog, as well as Spotify's proprietary creator platform, Anchor," it said.

Upon launch, the Spotify experience will be available on Mobile and Desktop Web Player.

"By reaching even more countries across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and Latin America, we're giving millions of new creators the opportunity to create, discover, and build a career in audio creation," the company said.

--IANS

na/