NEW YORK TIMES DANGLES SPOTIFY TO BOOST SUBS

Like a shark smelling blood, the New York Times is circling for potential new readers and has begun to pounce. The venerable newspaper already saw a leap in digital subscribers following November’s presidential election. Now, the Gray Lady is going after music streamers, offering a Spotify Premium subscription for all new digital sign-ups.

“News and music have gone hand-in-hand since the early days of radio, and because personalization and curation are central to what both The Times and Spotify do so well, we created an experience for Times readers that gives them access to all the news and all the music that they want in one premier subscription," said Times chief revenue officer Meredith Kopit Levien in a statement.

The Times signed up 276,000 new digital subscribers in the last quarter of 2016, but is still struggling to offset ongoing print losses. With Spotify as a partner, the paper hopes to appeal to a younger audience who not only want easy access to music, but also a steady dose of legitimate information in the age of fake news.

The Spotify promotion (valued at $120) is available only to new digital subscribers who commit to a year of the Times at $5 per week.