A new version of the Spotify mobile app will let users choose specific tracks from certain playlists even if they’re not paying for a subscription. Previously, free tier users could only listen to playlists on shuffle; the update will allow those users to select any song from 15 of Spotify’s personalized playlists, such as Discover Weekly, Daily Mix, or Release Radar, TechCrunch reports.
The announcement shows how strongly Spotify is committed to its free tier, which today has 90 million users. The hope is that more of those users will become subscribers if Spotify gives away a taste of the subscription version, which lets users select any of Spotify’s 35 million tracks on-demand and ad-free. Spotify currently has 70 million paid subscribers worldwide, though Apple Music is on track to pull ahead in the United States this summer.
In addition to the new on-demand listening for free users, Spotify announced a low-data mode that caches some information on the device for up to 75% less data consumption, along with a playlist assist feature that recommends similar songs to add as you’re building a playlist.
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