Bulletins

Spotify to expand to new markets, launch high-definition tier

The company has yet to announce pricing and other details for this new subscription tier.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek

Daniel Ek says that Spotify could have as many as 50 million creators on its platform by 2025.

Image: Spotify

The streaming service plans to expand to new markets that will allow the company to target a billion new potential customers in the coming days. Spotify announced its international expansion plans at a "Stream On" virtual press event Monday that also included a few product updates, including a preview on a high-definition streaming tier that is slated to launch in the coming months.

Spotify has yet to announce pricing and other details for this new subscription tier. The company did use Monday's event to also announce its take on the popular stories format, which the company calls Clips. Finally, CEO Daniel Ek said that the company ended 2020 with 8 million creators; he said that Spotify could have as many as 50 million creators on its platform by 2025.

Update: This story was updated to reflect that South Korea is not part of the new expansion plans. Spotify launched in South Korea on Feb. 1.

Janko Roettgers

Janko Roettgers (Twitter, Mastodon) used to be a senior reporter at Protocol, reporting on the shifting power dynamics between tech, media, and entertainment, including the impact of new technologies. Previously, Janko was Variety's first-ever technology writer in San Francisco, where he covered big tech and emerging technologies. He has reported for Gigaom, Frankfurter Rundschau, Berliner Zeitung, and ORF, among others. He has written three books on consumer cord-cutting and online music and co-edited an anthology on internet subcultures. He lives with his family in Oakland.

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