The Premium tab that made $50 million its first year

Spotify was fighting for every subscriber

In 2018, Spotify was in direct competition with Apple Music for Premium subscribers. The Free tier was a powerful funnel — but it wasn't converting the way it needed to.

Spotify had recently redesigned the Free experience and launched new Premium plans — Student, Duo, and Family — but none of that information was surfaced inside the Free app. Users had to leave the app entirely to discover what was available, and to purchase a premium plan.

The website made it easy to compare all Premium plans side by side — but none of this existed in the app

Nobody knew what they were missing

We surveyed 100 Spotify Free users. The numbers were stark:

The website made it easy to compare Premium offerings side-by-side. But none of this information existed in the app, where the majority of users spent their time.

Fighting for a fourth tab in the app

We designed a new Premium page that listed all the plans in one place — a similar experience to the website, helping showcase the variety of plan options available.

This meant adding a fourth tab to the Free experience. Spotify had recently rearchitected the entire app down to three tabs, so proposing a fourth did not come without resistance. But the data was clear: users needed a destination, and the tab bar was the most discoverable place to put it.

A tale of two platforms

Apple's in-app purchase system is seamless — but it takes a 30% cut. Spotify, like many companies, chose not to use it. Back then that decision came with a content design cost: Apple wouldn't let you tell users how to upgrade.

Our Android version included price and CTAs to try Premium — Google wasn't charging commission on digital goods in 2018. But our iOS version had no functionality, no price, and no explanation. It was essentially a static page with moderately helpful info.

This gave us a third goal beyond conversion and awareness: Help Spotify Free users upgrade to Premium on iPhone without telling them how to do it.

Android: pricing, CTAs, and a clear path to upgrade

Android: Duo and Family plans with full pricing

iOS: the disclaimer text, no pricing, no upgrade path

iOS: plan cards without pricing or CTAs

Guerrilla research gave us real signal

My product design counterpart and myself ran quick, scrappy user testing in Washington Square Park. We watched iOS users try to upgrade through the new tab. The pattern was consistent: they'd look for functionality in Settings, try Account and Profile, realize the page had no interactive elements, and eventually reach a dead end.

We asked: "What if you saw a line that said you couldn't upgrade in the app?"

Their reply: "I'd think it was dumb, but I'd probably just Google it."

That was the insight. Users didn't need a perfect experience, they needed honesty. If we acknowledged the limitation directly, they'd find their own way.

Designing the disclaimer

The content design goal was twofold: help people understand they can't upgrade in the app, and acknowledge this isn't a great experience. We explored a range of options across tone and compliance:

The full disclaimer copy exploration — from basic compliance to personality to middle ground

We landed on three finalists:

We placed the chosen line near the top of the page — small font, but impossible to miss.

Then we ran another round of user testing.

17 of 20 iOS users read the disclaimer text and went to the website to complete the upgrade. The other 3 missed the text and used Google or YouTube to figure it out. Every single one found a path.

$50 million in year one

The Free team was hyper-focused on retention, so we had to ensure we weren't compromising the Free user base with the new tab. We didn't.

When the Premium tab launched in 2018, Spotify had 56 million Premium subscribers. Today, Spotify has over 293 million — and the tab is still there.

The tab outlived multiple app redesigns over the past 8 years. That's how you know it works.

The Premium tab in 2024 — redesigned, updated copy, same disclaimer. Still converting.