Spotify Free no longer free?

[Seala]

Hi, I've been using Spotify for years, since it was in an early beta stage and I love it. Since I've been using it for a long time I've had an account where I can play unlimited amounts of hours without having to pay for a subscription (in other words I didn't have a 10 hour or 5 times/song limit, but I still had commercials).

I've paid for a spotify subscription before but I just don't have the money to spare right now so I have to use the free version for now. However a couple of days ago I could no longer use my spotify account since it tells me I've used up my 10 free hours. Any reason in particulary why I suddenly got this 10h/month restriction on my account when I've been using it for ages and never had it before? I have some friends with similar accounts who havn't gotten the 10h restriction. Any help would be much appreciated.

[Peter__]

Hey! Welcome to the community 🙂

Spotify free is unlimited (with ads) for the first 6 months that your account is active. After that, you receive 2.5h of listening time per week. 

More information can be found in this FAQ.

Peter

[Seala]

I was under the impression that you could continue to listen to unlimited music if you had an account since the beta? Besides, I've had my account significantly longer then 6 months so why would I get the limit now?

Thanks for the help

[Peter__]

I'm not 100% sure! 

Have you changed country or anything since your account was created? 

I am going to escalate this to the forum staff to see if they have any input!

Peter

[Seala]

No, I havn't changed country or any other major settings lately (I live in Sweden, dunno if that's of importance or not).

Thanks for the quick replies.

[Richard]

Hey Seala, welcome to the Community. Thanks for being a long-time Spotify supporter. All Spotify accounts now are subject to certain restrictions after 6 months - no matter how old they are. Since your account is older than this, the restrictions will apply. This is why you are getting this following your subscription. Are you positive you weren't receiving the limits before? That can't be right.

[Seala]

Yes, I've been using the account pretty much every single day for years and have had no restrictions until 3ish days ago.

[Richard · Accepted solution]

It sounds like the restrictions didn't catch up to you for some reason then. Most likely just a glitch in the system.

I created my account in 2009 and when I go back to free I still get the 10hr/cap. That's how it's supposed to work.

Sorry for any confusion caused.

[Seala]

Ok thanks for the help.

[Ilpomeeminen]

10h/month.. Spotify is trying to say that I should go download music illegally, since it's not limitless anymore?

[Marco]

Now that's some logic...

Free music - illegal music... I give you a hint: there's a 3rd option - Pay for legal music and support artists. 😉

[Speedsk8r]

How much does spotify cost for unlimited listening for a year....?

[Peter__]

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@Speedsk8r wrote:
How much does spotify cost for unlimited listening for a year....?

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Hey 🙂 

Spotify prices vary depending on your geographical location, for example here in the UK it costs £4.99 a month, whereas in the US it costs $4.99. You can view the pricing in your country from the Spotify website.

It is not possible to pay for unlimited in a yearly fashion like you can with premium online. You can however get Spotify Gift Cards (if available in your country) which would allow you to pay in advanced. 

Peter

[Sam]

Speedsk8r - Don't forget, you can use Spotify on your desktop for free anyway. You'll just have a few adverts. If you don't want adverts, an Unlimited or Premium subscription is for you.

[Veronica-Grace]

Hello!I have a problem, I finshed the 10 hours of november some days ago, but it's still displaying that I have 0 minutes to listen 😞 It hasn't set again with december? Can anyone help me or explain me? Thanks 

Grace (Italy)

[Peter__]

@Veronica-Grace - Spotify free restrictions are outlined on this help page. Your 10 hours per month is actually allocated as 2.5 hours per week renewing on whichever day of the week your Spotify account was created - so you should never be without music for more than 7 days.