In private talks, Spotify has told music executives that it is considering allowing some artists to start releasing albums only to its 20 million-plus subscribers, who pay $10 a month, while withholding the music temporarily from the company’s 80 million free users. Spotify, initially, will try the new approach as a test, according to a person familiar with the matter. It wants to investigate how such a “windowed” approach might affect usage and subscription sign-ups. It also hasn’t decided which artist will get to withhold music from the free service first, this person said, adding that the company isn’t ready to announce a permanent policy change yet.
Source: Spotify Considers Allowing Some Artists to Withhold Music From Free Service – WSJ