listen to an unlimited amount of music for free. In January 2012, the free trial periods began to expire, limiting users to ten hours of streaming each month and five plays per song. Using PC streaming, a similar structure to the one used today allowed the listener to play songs freely, but with ads every 4-7 songs depending on listening duration. Later that same year, in March, Spotify removed all limits on the free service tier indefinitely, including mobile devices.

In April 2016, Ek and Lorentzon wrote an open letter to Swedish politicians,