{
  "id": 8897879,
  "title": "Streams and roundabouts: Apple Music just fixed one long-running issue, while Spotify added a different one",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/streams-and-roundabouts-apple-music-just-fixed-one-long-running-issue",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-21T10:03:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechRadar",
    "slug": "techradar",
    "url": "https://www.techradar.com/audio/streams-and-roundabouts-apple-music-just-fixed-one-long-running-issue-while-spotify-added-a-different-one"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Spotify and Apple Music are two prominent music streaming services, each making changes that have sparked mixed reactions from users. Spotify's recent decision to limit free listeners to only Premium users for the first three days of a new release's upload has been met with criticism. This move, which is currently being tested in certain regions such as Bangladesh and India, is seen as a way to push free subscribers towards upgrading to Premium. On the other hand, Apple Music introduced new sliders in its iOS27 settings that allow users to add songs to playlists or favorites without automatically adding them to their library. This feature is seen as a significant improvement that addresses one of Apple Music's long-standing issues.",
  "summary": "Apple Music has changed how songs appear or disappear in playlists, while Spotify has barred free-tier listeners from streaming new music for a set amount of time",
  "key_points": [
    "Spotify limits free listeners to Premium users for new releases' first three days.",
    "Apple Music adds new sliders for adding songs to playlists without adding to library.",
    "Spotify's change aims to push free subscribers towards upgrading to Premium."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Android Authority",
        "title": "Spotify is now gatekeeping new music to Premium subscribers, but the blame lies elsewhere",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/spotify-is-now-gatekeeping-new-music-to-premium-subscribers-but-the",
        "published": "2026-09-21T15:14:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}