16 March 2021, Kathmandu
Spotify is a Swedish audio streaming and media services provider (owned by Spotify AB), which was launched in October 2008.
It has been offering digital copyright-restricted recorded music and podcasts, along with more than 70 million songs, from record labels and media companies for more than a decade. Basic features are free with advertisements and limited control, while additional features, like offline listening, and commercial-free listening, are available only to the paid members. Spotify is currently available in most of Europe and the Americas, Oceania, and parts of Africa and Asia. By the end of 2021, the Swedish media service giant is expecting to reach around 178 countries. As per the company spokesperson, they will operate in 85 new markets including Nepal, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
In all these new markets, Spotify will offer both Spotify Free and Spotify Premium plans where the users can access Spotify on mobile apps and in the browser. The service is available on most modern devices including Windows, Mac OS, and Linux computers, iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, and the platform has 345 million monthly active users, including 155 million paying subscribers. In the case of Nepal, the only way to stream music is through YouTube, and while it does the job for streaming singles, it’s still a hassle to search out other tracks and albums. Even if there are few streaming platforms available currently but they don’t include as many artists.
YOU CAN GET SPOTIFY FOR FREE, JUST BY SIGNING USING YOUR GOOGLE OR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT.
Using an email address:
You need to fill-up the form with all the necessary information like username, password, email, date of birth, and gender, etc.
Using Facebook account:
Click on the Sign up With Facebook button, enter your login details (email address, phone, and password), and then click the Login button.
However, the Spotify premium plan offers three different options to the user, one for students at $4.99/month, one for individuals that costs $6.99/month, and a family plan (for up to 6 members) costing $14.99/month.
Potential Impact on Nepalese Music Industry
The official launch of Spotify in Nepal is a very welcoming step from the music streaming giant. Nepalese music creators and artists will be most benefited by the official launch of Spotify in Nepal. Even though Nepalese music creators have been uploading tons of albums to the Spotify library previously, they had to go through various hassles in doing so. But those struggles will now be over after the official launch of Spotify.
A lot of Nepali people were already using Spotify but that only by using a VPN each time or downloading a cracked version which was exasperating either way. It has been very good news for music lovers as the days of relying on piracy to download albums and listening to music solely on YouTube are finally over. Now, Nepalese artists can release the album and tracks and keep track of how fans are discovering and listening to their music all around the world.
The stats provided by Spotify can help artists run promotional campaigns and even generate handsome revenue from their titles. In a nutshell, the whole Nepalese music industry will benefit after the official launch of the biggest music streaming platform. This is Spotify’s broadest ever market expansion to date which will ensure that sounds and stories that once remained local can reach a global audience.
All this untapped music energy and access to our innovative creator tools will help propel local artists to turn their passion into a profession. Upon launching Spotify, the company aims to introduce the following offerings in each new market including Nepal:
Plans
Both Free and Premium plans will be available to the users across all the markets. Similarly, Spotify will offer Individual, Family, Duo, and Student Plan options to its customers.
User Experience:
Listeners will be able to select and search from Spotify’s worldwide catalog providing a personalized experience from the start. Also, the home screen features personalized playlist programming for new listeners.
Podcasts:
In the majority of these new markets including Nepal, Spotify will launch with its full podcast catalog. For the rest, it will work closely with local partners to introduce more podcasts from its catalog.
Platforms:
Upon launch, Spotify will be available only on Mobile and Desktop Web Player.