Spotify to expand international footprint across 85 new markets

Over the next few days, Spotify will be launching its service in 85 new markets, and will also roll out 36 new languages on the platform. The news was announced at its online event, “Stream On” today.

The expansion includes markets across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Combined, these markets include more than a billion people. With these launches, Spotify says “sounds and stories that once remained local will have access to a global audience of fans across nearly 180 markets.” And as part of its ongoing commitment to building a truly borderless audio ecosystem— connecting creators, listeners, and content — this move represents the company’s broadest market expansion to date.

According to the company, it will be working closely with local creators and partners in each market to deliver a tailored experience that meets their unique needs, with scaled language translations and specialized payment formats. In addition, Spotify’s expansion will likely accelerate the discovery of more genres like Afrobeats, Amapiano, K-Pop, Reggaeton, and Amapiano that have earned a place in the global music scene.

“The existing rich music cultures in each of these markets will now be able to reach Spotify’s global audience. All this untapped music energy and access to our innovative creator tools will help propel artists to new heights and empower them to turn their passion into a profession,” an excerpt in the company’s statement read.

Working with local creators and partners, here’s a holistic approach to how Spotify plans to roll out its music offerings in each region.

First off, its free and premium plans will be available across all the markets. It will also offer individual, family, duo, and student plan options but in select markets which Spotify doesn’t specify. Also in each of these new markets, Spotify will offer its full global catalog. The company adds that it will continuously work with local rights holders and partners to expand its catalog to include more local offerings globally.

Full podcast catalogs of the global streaming giant will be launched in the majority of these markets. For the other markets, Spotify will work closely with local partners to introduce more podcasts from its catalog, as well as Spotify’s proprietary creator platform, Anchor.

Other offerings include providing a personalized experience to users through its home screen, and browse and search features. Upon launch in these markets, Spotify will be available on mobile and desktop web players while the company works with local partners to introduce Spotify on more platforms, including TV, speakers, wearables, and cars in the coming months.

“Having more listeners on our platform creates more opportunities for artists and podcasters to make a living from their work. And more creators means more audio content for our users to discover,” said Alex Norström, Spotify chief freemium business officer. “This creates an essential flywheel between creators and listeners that is the foundation of our business — and in the end, it is what will propel the audio industry forward.”

The new markets include 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.

The expansion news follows a thread of announcements Spotify made today where it also rolled out Spotify HiFi in select global markets and launched a new tool “Discovery Mode” in beta.