Spotify's Premium Early Access: what Universal's 72-hour window means
A label-led pilot in India delays new releases for free listeners by three days; reports differ on exactly what is covered.
Universal Music Group said on its 30 July earnings call that new releases from major artists would launch exclusively to paying subscribers for their first 72 hours on streaming services in India. Reports said it would start at the end of August.
Spotify's version is called Premium Early Access. Reports say it launched on 28 August, and free listeners get the music after the window closes. Spotify says nothing is permanently withheld and that only releases the artist and label agree to include are affected.
Coverage disagrees on scope. Some outlets describe it as a delay on albums, while one report says the first launch involved two singles. Spotify's support page lists India as the only market, though some reports mention Bangladesh.
UMG said the window applies to paid tiers on other services too, including Apple Music and YouTube Music. One source says no equivalent window is scheduled for the US, UK or EU.
