Karandeep Singh Oberoi / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Spotify could soon let Free users host their own collaborative Jams, removing the current Premium-only requirement.
- Jams hosted by Free users may force shuffle, limit skips, and cap the queue for everyone, including Premium participants.
- App strings in Spotify 9.1.82.19 hint at the change, but there’s no guarantee the feature will actually roll out.
Spotify released Jam, a fully collaborative real-time playlist that can be joined by up to 32 individuals, back in September of 2023. It’s one of Spotify’s best features, and it’s turning three next month. To celebrate the occasion, the music streaming giant might finally be ready to make hosting Jams a lot more accessible.
For reference, joining and participating in Jams is available to all, but hosting one requires you to be a Spotify Premium subscriber. Essentially, joining someone’s party is a free affair, but if you want to host a party, you’ll have to open up your wallet. That caveat, however, could soon disappear.
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Within version 9.1.82.19 of the Spotify Android app, we’ve spotted some code string changes that suggest that starting and hosting a Jam soon might not require Spotify Premium.
For reference, here’s what the feature’s code strings used to say prior to the latest update:
Code
<string name="free_user_shuffle_upsell_sheet_subtitle">Get Premium to start your own Jam and play any song, any time.</string>
<string name="free_user_skip_upsell_sheet_subtitle">Get Premium to start your own Jam and skip as much as you want.</string>Here’s what the same code strings say now:
Code
<string name="free_user_shuffle_upsell_sheet_subtitle">Get Premium to take full control over what plays next.</string>
<string name="free_user_skip_upsell_sheet_subtitle">Get Premium to skip as much as you want.</string>The difference is in the way Jam’s availability is phrased. In both instances, Spotify seems to have removed the “to start your own Jam” wording. Instead, the strings solely focus on indicating that Premium will be required to “take full control” and “skip as much as you want.”
The code changes don’t outright confirm that Spotify is breaking down the Premium paywall for hosting Jams, but they sure do suggest that, especially when corroborated with strings that lay out the limitations users will encounter when in a Jam hosted by a non-Premium user:
Code
<string name="free_hosted_jams_upsell_snackbar_skip">You can't skip songs in this Jam anymore as the host is on the free plan.</string>
<string name="free_hosted_jams_upsell_snackbar_play_context">Songs are now playing in a random order as the host is on the free plan.</string>
<string name="free_hosted_jams_upsell_snackbar_queue">You can't queue songs in this Jam anymore as the host is on the free plan.</string>What a free Spotify Jam would look like
If these code changes do turn out to be part of an upcoming rollout, free Spotify users will finally be able to host their own Jams, albeit with some clear limitations — limitations that would apply to participants, regardless of their potential Premium status.
Even if you’re a Premium subscriber, if you join a Jam that’s hosted by a free user, you’ll face restrictions like a limited number of skips, songs playing in random order, and the inability to queue songs. Free-tier hosts, on the other hand, will see upsell prompts for Spotify Premium.
Some other related strings include:
Code
<string name="queue_jam_capped_premium_banner_message">Songs are playing in a random order. Play in any order with Premium.</string>
<string name="free_hosted_jams_upsell_snackbar_capped_transition">Now playing songs in a random order.</string>
<string name="free_hosted_jams_upsell_snackbar_shuffle">This Jam is playing in shuffle mode only.</string>As is always the case with early app teardowns, these strings don’t guarantee that Spotify will break Jam hosting free from its Premium exclusivity. If the company does decide to go through with the change, it might not look or function exactly as we’ve described.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
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