Spotify Finally Coming To Jamaica & The Caribbean In Expansion To 80+ New Markets
Spotify is finally set to expand its music streaming service to Jamaica, the Caribbean, and over 80 new markets.
The expansion will occur over the next couple of days and will make Spotify, already the world leader in premium streaming, an active provider in 85 new markets (bringing the total to 173) and will bring 36 new languages to the platform.
The announcement was made today during the Swedish provider’s “Stream On” online event and the move represents the company’s largest market expansion to date. It follows a major Apple Music expansion to Jamaica and 51 additional countries, which we reported last year April.
One Jamaican stakeholder and CEO of music publishing agency Pop Style Music, Julian Jones-Griffith, has already reacted to the news saying on Twitter, “It’s coming at last – a game changer for us”.
“The first thing record labels look at is how much an artiste is streaming, when these platforms haven’t even been available in our core market, which inevitably means the numbers are distorted. (So) this is going to help level the playing field for us, bring in more revenue,” Jones-Griffith told the Gleaner last year on Apple’s expansion.
Producer Yared “BoomDraw” Lee said “Spotify launching in the Caribbean and many African countries is going to be HUGE for Jamaican music. This is VERY exciting!!!!”
We launch in 80+ new markets over the next few days. See you soon Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nigeria 👀 #SpotifyStreamOn pic.twitter.com/Wqv3IFdicz
— Spotify (@Spotify) February 22, 2021
Spotify’s Chief Freemium Business Officer, Alex Norström said today, “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.”
“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,” he added.
The company says they will be working with stakeholders in each market to deliver a tailored experience and specialized payment formats.
Spotify states that its Free and Premium plans will be available across all the markets and in select markets, the company’s Individual, Family, Duo, and Student Plan options will be offered.
The list of Caribbean countries includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Other markets include Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Curaçao, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, 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, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.