Spotify announces messaging feature for free, premium users

(Reuters) -Spotify Technology will start rolling out a messaging feature to both free and premium subscription tiers as the music streaming giant seeks to attract more users and fend off competition.

The messaging feature will allow users to chat and share music with people they have interacted with on Spotify, the Swedish firm said on Tuesday. It will be available on mobile devices of users aged 16 and older in select markets starting this week.

Spotify had a similar messaging feature earlier, but had removed it in 2017 over low engagement. This time, the company is banking on the sharp growth in subscribers over the past few years to revive the feature and grab market share.

The company has been focused on boosting margins through price hikes while balancing user growth amid intensifying competition from rivals such as Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.

The music streamer, which had 696 million monthly active users in the second quarter, is investing in new features as it targets 1 billion, according to a Financial Times report on Sunday.

It has been expanding its video content library, including through a partner program that offers monetization options for podcast creators.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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