Spotify has completely removed its five-plays-per-song cap for free users in five European countries and extended its unlimited six-month free trial in the US.

Users using Spotify for free in Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands and Spain will no longer be subject to a five-plays-per-song limit with the streaming service telling Music Ally, “We’re taking the fight to piracy and seeing millions of people choose to pay for music again.

“We did this by offering people the best music service on the planet and an unrivalled free music tier is fundamental to that,” says Spotify in a statement provided to Music Ally. “We’ve been working with our label partners to remove the five-plays-per-song limit introduced last year and today’s news is a result of that work.”

As far as restrictions in other territories are concerned: “Our agreements with the labels differ from market to market,” explained Spotify. “We’re working hard to bring these improvements to the entire service, so watch this space.”

Following on from the news in Europe, Spotify went on to announce an extension of the service’s free listening period on the US as a thank you.

“Well, it’s now been 9 months since we launched in the US,” said a message on Spotify’s US blog. “Time sure flies when you’re having fun! To celebrate, here’s some great news…

“We’ve been so overwhelmed by the US response to Spotify that we’ve extended the honeymoon for unlimited free listening.

“Right now, if you’re a free user, you can continue to enjoy millions and millions of tracks without time limits, gimmicks or catches. It’s our way of saying thanks to the US!” http://www.musicweek.com