Spotify retreats to invite-only in UK

Stuart Turton Read more October 7, 2009

Spotify has reinstated its invite-only model, citing “huge demand” since the launch of its mobile service.

The invite-only subscription method means new users have to be invited by a friend. Spotify made use of the scheme when it first launched in an effort to keep track of users numbers and ensure a smooth service.

It was dumped back in February, though the company warned that “If growth happens too fast and it starts affecting quality we may have to reinstate the invitation system, hopefully this won’t happen.”

That prediction now appears to have come true: “I wanted to quickly let everyone know that due to the huge demand in the UK over the last few days since we launched our mobile service, we are going to have to temporarily reinstate our invite system,” says Andres Sehr on the Spotify blog.

He gave no indication of how long Spotify would remain invite-only, however, he did note that people would still be able to sign up for premium accounts immediately. People who don’t want to put their hand in their pocket and don’t have any friends can sign up to a waiting list instead.

To find out why we’re falling in love with the Spotify mobile app head over to the blogs.