Spotify is finally bringing its streaming service to Jamaica, following calls from local artistes for them to make the move.
The music streaming service, which is already the leader in the streaming business, now plans to expand into 80 new markets making its penetration a total of 173 markets worldwide. The big news out of this is Jamaicans will finally get to stream music from local and overseas artistes on Spotify. The move comes on the heels of Apple Music’s announcement that they will be expanding into 52 markets, including Jamaica and other countries in the Caribbean and Africa.
Spotify’s Chief Freemium Business Officer, Alex Norström, made the announcement at the company’s Stream On event on Monday saying that there is a potential combined 1 billion potential Spotify users across these new markets. Norström added that the company’s “core library of content and features that will evolve over time.”
Spotify will be available for free and premium subscription level streaming in all of these markets. However, its Individual, Family, Duo, and Student Plan level subscriptions will be available in select markets.
Reggae and dancehall artistes are excited to hear this news since this may potentially help the genres generate higher streaming numbers after years of low numbers and complaints from stakeholders. Spotify added that the move would also help creators in music-rich markets like Jamaica and Africa reach more listeners globally.
Among the countries that make up the list of new markets are from the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia.
Spotify new music markets.
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Curaçao, Djibouti, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia, Macau, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
