Spotify Limits Free Use

OUT DAMN SPOTIFY: Last week’s Spotify announcement that they’d be cutting back their “freemium” service, limiting the number of plays per song and number of monthly hours before a user had to subscribe is being cited by observers as an example the successful music subscription service is starting to give in to major label demands in order to get a foothold in the U.S. market. The labels apparently want Spotify to offer, at most, a month’s free trial before the user is forced to make a purchase decision. The service’s “free” iteration has always been a sticking point with record company execs, especially WMG’s Edgar Bronfman Jr., who has a deal with the service in Europe, but has so far refused to budge about allowing it in the States. (4/19a)