Spotify dumps invites - now open to all UK

Spotify is looking to open up the UK market
Spotify is looking to open up the UK market

Spotify has removed the 'invite-only' barrier to its music service in the UK, meaning that anyone can download the software and get access to millions of tunes.

Spotify had previously been keeping tabs on the user numbers by making it available only through invitations from current members, in order to "ensure everyone gets a really good music experience when they sign up".

Bigging up Blighty

But following a successful initial run, the company has opened its virtual doors to the whole of good ol' Blighty. But don't get too excited by the news, as the company has said it may re-instate the invite scheme should it grow rapidly:

"We want to make sure that everyone who uses Spotify gets the same fast, uninterrupted experience so providing a stable service is our priority," said a spokesperson for the site.

"If growth happens too fast and it starts affecting quality we may have to re-instate the invitation system, hopefully this won't happen."

Swedish criticism

Spotify has also responded to criticism that it chose the UK as the first 'invite-free' territory instead of its native Sweden, with one user stating: "It's great that you're doing this but at the same time a little bit sad that Sweden is not the first country to be opened up."

Spotify responded by saying: "The UK is a large, key market for us and demand in Sweden is so high that we probably couldn't open up right now without jeopardising quality."

Head over to Spotify to see what all the fuss is about.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grew with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.

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