Spotify is finally bringing its streaming service to the Caribbean Region.
The leading streaming service has plans to expand into 80 new markets making its penetration a total of 180 markets worldwide. This is major news for artists in St. Lucia and the region at large. It is speculated however that this move was made subsequent to Apple Music’s own announcement that they would be expanding to newer markets which included the region – notably Jamaica and Africa.
Spotify’s Chief Freemium Business Officer, Alex Norström, made the announcement at the company’s Stream On event on Monday February 22 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.”
Established genres like Dancehall and Reggae can hope to see a boost in numbers after years of low number and complaints from stakeholders. Also this is an opportunity for other genres to gain the recognition they deserve.
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. Spotify added that the move would also help creators in music-rich markets reach more listeners globally.
Below is the list of 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.