Spotify is expanding its offerings again by adding…

Spotify is expanding its offerings again by adding classes

Fast Facts

Spotify now offers e-learning courses as part of a new experiment in the United Kingdom for free and premium subscribers.
Subscribers get two classes for free but will need to pay for any additional courses.

Since its original launch, Spotify (SPOT) has been focused on expansion by constantly adding new tracks and also differing the types of content you can listen to or watch. Music is still central, but the service is also home to podcasts and audiobooks. You can also purchase merch and even use the app to help find touring dates.

However, through its latest in-app experiment in the United Kingdom, Spotify is setting its sights on a new content type: e-learning classes. While it isn't a full, proper feature yet, any subscriber in that location (regardless of whether they’re paying for Premium or not) can take two classes for free.

Spotify is partnering with e-learning brands like PlayVirtuoso, Thinkific, BBC Maestro, and Skillshare to offer classes in four categories: get creative, living healthy, learn business, and make music. The latter category feels the most at home here; after all, Spotify was first a music streaming service.

Spotify currently offers music, podcasts, and audiobooks.
Getty Images/TheStreet

In the United Kingdom, these courses are available on Spotify mobile and desktop apps and the web. For now, it’s still just an experiment, though, and Spotify won’t charge for access to browse courses or for the first two classes you try. After those, though, there is a fee per course. Spotify hasn’t sharing whether or not courses will be locked under a tier higher than free. TheStreet has reached out for comment.

TheVerge provided more insight into how you'll pay for the courses after the two free ones, depending on the app. Via Android, you'll get an email sent to you to complete the purchase of a course, but on Apple's iOS, you need to visit Spotify's site to make it happen.

The streaming service is clearly using this limited rollout of courses in the United Kingdom as a test. If it proves popular enough, it could be rolled out to other locations for more users to take advantage of.

This is one of the biggest changes in terms of new features since a pretty sizable reduction in headcount at the end of 2023. At the time, CEO Daniel Elk noted that along with bringing spending in line with market expectations, the teams were focused on “funding the significant growth opportunities we continue to identify.” It could be that e-learning courses was one of these growth opportunities, but at the minimum, it’s clear that the service is working on new features.

We’re also still waiting for Spotify Hi-Fi, a premium audio tier which was announced in 2021. That long-anticipated rollout would bring Spotify’s core music streaming in line with Apple Music and Amazon Music, which already stream at that higher quality at no additional cost.

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here