Spotify begins to crack down on friends who share family projects

Spotify sends emails to some users asking them to locate their GPS to make sure they live in the same place, reports Spiegel Online and Quartz. According to the email, subscribers who do not confirm their home address may lose access to their plan. This move is an apparent attempt by Spotify to crack down on groups of friends who are saving money on individual subscriptions by sharing discounted plans for families.

The e-mails, sent to a limited number of Premium for Family subscribers in at least the United States and Germany, have been received with contempt by some who rightly point out that not all families live together. However, the small print of Spotify indicates that the family plan is available for "you and up to five people who reside at the same address".

The amount of people subscribing to family plans suggests that they do not all meet the definition of Spotify. Display panel reports that nearly half of worldwide streaming subscribers (including Spotify's competitors) use family-friendly bundles because they can reduce the cost of a 75% Spotify subscription with six people on a Spotify family plan of 14.99 $.

The practice appears to have an impact on Spotify's net income, with average revenue per user sliding by 12% in the second quarter of 2018. Previously, the company had offered little or no means to verify the family status of a user, which facilitated the implementation of shared plans between friends living in entirely separate places.

It's hard to know how aggressively Spotify plans to move forward with the confirmation process. Contacted to comment, a Spotify spokesperson said: "Spotify is currently testing improvements to the Premium for Family user experience with small groups of users in certain markets. We're still testing new products and experiences at Spotify, but we have no other news to share about this particular feature test. "