Is Spotify quietly phasing out its “Basic” plan?
Spotify’s music-only subscription played a key role in the platform’s bundling strategy. Now, it looks like it may be slowly disappearing.
What was Spotify Basic?
Spotify introduced its Basic subscription plan in 2023, shortly after bundling audiobooks into its Premium Individual, Duo, and Family plans. It offered a music-only subscription for $1 less that didn’t include audiobook access.
By bundling audiobooks into Premium, Spotify was able to classify the bundled subscription differently, allowing it to pay lower mechanical royalties to songwriters and publishers. The move sparked protests from subscribers, publishers, and rights owners, especially considering an estimated 99% of Spotify’s US subscriptions fall under the bundled category.
The US Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) even sued Spotify over its Premium bundling strategy, focusing on the fact it wasn’t really a bundle. Although the lawsuit was initially dismissed in February 2025, the MLC reopened the case later the same month, with the issue still very much alive.
At the time of the bundling, Spotify’s introduction of a music-only Basic plan was a strategic move. Effectively, it meant that Spotify could argue that Premium really was a bundle plan, while still providing a music-only option for those not interested in audiobooks.
What’s happening now?
Fast forward to 2026, and times have changed. Spotify appears to be slowly closing the door on its Basic plan, as spotted by Digital Music News. The plan was always pretty hidden, but now the wording around it makes it pretty much completely inaccessible.
Users who currently subscribe to Basic are being told that once they cancel, they won’t be able to resubscribe.
Meanwhile, anyone trying to sign up to the Basic plan is met with new messaging stating that it is only available to certain eligible existing Premium subscribers.
The bigger picture
Going forward, anyone leaving Basic will be pushed back onto Premium’s bundled offering. That means paying $1 more each month, and paying for audiobook access whether they want it or not. For publishers and songwriters, that could mean less mechanical royalties too.
However, let’s remember that Spotify signed a series of agreements directly with publishers throughout 2025 to remedy this. So, the move might not have the far-reaching implications that initially suggests it would.
Instead, it simply seems that Spotify’s Basic plan has served its purpose in a difficult moment following the bundling controversy, even if the MLC are pressing on with their case.
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