Spotify now lets free users search and play music they want: What's new

Spotify updates its free tier with new features, giving users more control, personalised playlists, custom covers, and smarter music discovery tools

Spotify is loosening some of the restrictions it previously placed on its free tier. With the latest update, free users can now search, play, and share specific songs, access personalised and editorial playlists, customise playlist covers, and enjoy expanded discovery features. While Premium members still get exclusives like Lossless audio, AI Playlist, and Mix, the free tier now includes more interactive tools for control and personalisation.

 

Earlier, free users couldn’t directly play a song they searched for or selected within a playlist or album. Instead, Spotify shuffled playback, requiring multiple skips to reach the intended track—with a cap of six skips per hour. The update removes that limitation, significantly improving the free experience.

 

Here are the new features coming to the free-tier of Spotify

Play, search, and share

• Pick and Play: Start any track directly with a tap.
• Search and Play: Enter a song title and play it instantly.
• Share and Play: Open and listen to songs shared by friends or artists on social media.

Discover playlists

Users can listen through personalised mixes, explore editorial playlists curated by Spotify’s music experts, or build their own collections. 

 

To create a playlist:  select a title, add a few tracks, and Spotify will automatically suggest additional songs to expand it with ease. As listening activity increases and preferences are shared, Spotify refines its recommendations.

Personalised playlist covers

In select regions, Spotify lets users design unique covers for playlists directly in the iOS or Android app. Options include adding custom images, colors, text styles, and graphics to match each playlist’s mood. Only one custom cover can be saved per playlist—creating a new design replaces the old one. 

Soundtrack with Daylist

Spotify’s Daylist adapts playlists to match daily or weekly listening patterns. These automatically updated lists reflect moods and habits throughout the day. Users can save their favorite Daylists by creating a new playlist for quick access anytime.

Music discovery

Spotify helps users discover new music through personalised playlists. 

• Discover Weekly: A refreshed playlist of personalised recommendations each week.
• Release Radar: Highlights new releases from followed artists.
• Social media integration: Songs shared by artists on social media can now be played directly within Spotify.

Lyrics feature

When available, lyrics appear in real time by swiping up in the Now Playing view on mobile, displaying line by line as the track progresses.