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new video loaded: Trump Gets a Second State Visit to the U.K.
By Mark Landler, Nikolay Nikolov, Jon Hazell, Christina Shaman and Stephanie Swart•
President Trump will be in the U.K. this week in an unprecedented second state visit. Mark Landler, the London bureau chief of The New York Times, describes the efforts the British are making to stay on Trump’s good side, and what they hope to get in return.
Malawians are voting to elect their next president amid a deepening economic crisis in one of Africa’s poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries.
The small Southeast African nation has been hit with double-digit inflation that has caused food prices to skyrocket for several months now. It came after intense drought events last year. Earlier, in 2023, Cyclone Freddy, which struck the region, hit Malawi the hardest, killing more than 1,000 people and devastating livelihoods.
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In Tuesday’s election, voters are also choosing parliamentarians and local councillors across 35 local governments.
Malawi is most known for its tourist hotspots, such as Lake Malawi, Africa’s third-largest freshwater lake, as well as nature and wildlife parks.
The country has a population of 21.6 million. Lilongwe is the capital city, and Blantyre is the commercial nerve centre.
Here’s what to know about the elections:
How does voting happen?
The elections began in the morning on Tuesday and will end by evening.
Some 7.2 million people are registered to vote across 35 local government authorities, according to the electoral commission.
To emerge as president, a candidate must gain more than 50 percent of the vote. If not, then a run-off must be held. Presidential results will be published by September 24.
A total of 299 constituency parliament members and 509 councillors will be elected. Parliamentary results will be published by September 30.
Who are the key contenders?
Seventeen presidential candidates are running for the post. However, the race is largely considered a two-horse race between incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera and former leader Peter Mutharika.
Malawi Congress Party supporters hold a poster showing President Lazarus Chakwera at a campaign rally in Blantyre, on September 7, 2025 [Thoko Chikondi/AP]
Lazarus Chakwera: The 70-year-old president and leader of the ruling Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is hoping to secure his second and — per the constitution — final term.
The former preacher’s win in 2020 was historic, after a court ruled that there were irregularities in the 2019 election, and ordered a re-run. Chakwera’s win in that second vote marked the first time in African history that an opposition candidate won a re-run election.
However, Chakwera’s tenure has been marked by high levels of inflation and, more recently, fuel shortages. There have also been numerous allegations of corruption, particularly nepotism, against him. In 2021, the president made headlines when he appointed his daughter, Violet Chakwera Mwasinga, as a diplomat to Brussels.
In his campaigns, Chakwera has asked for more time to work on easing the country’s current economic stagnation. He and officials in his government have also blamed some of the hardships on last year’s drought, a cholera outbreak between 2022 and 2024, and the devastation of Cyclone Freddy in February 2023.
Supporters point out that Chakwera has already overseen major road construction work across Malawi and restarted train services after more than 30 years.
He previously ran in 2014, but was unsuccessful.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader and presidential candidate Peter Mutharika speaks to supporters at a campaign rally in Zomba, Malawi, on September 10, 2025 [Thoko Chikondi/AP]
Peter Mutharika: The 85-year-old leader of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is looking to make a comeback after his earlier second-term bid was defeated by Chakwera in 2020.
A former law professor, Mutharika has campaigned on the economic gains he said Malawi witnessed under him, arguing that things were better during his tenure than under the present leadership. He led Malawi from 2014 to 2020.
While he is credited with lowering inflation and kickstarting major infrastructure projects, Mutharika also faced corruption scandals in his time. In 2018, Malawians took to the streets to protest his alleged involvement in a bribery scandal that had seen a businessman pay a 200,000 kickback to his party. Mutharika was later cleared of wrongdoing.
Critics have speculated about Mutharika’s age, noting that he has not been particularly active during the campaign. Mutharika is the brother of former President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in office in 2012.
Other notable presidential contenders include:
Joyce Banda – Malawi’s only female president from 2012 to 2014, from the People’s Party. She was formerly vice president under Bingu wa Mutharika.
Michael Usi – the former vice president who is from the Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu party.
What’s at stake in this election?
Struggling economy
Although Malawi exports tobacco, tea, and other agricultural products, the country is largely aid-dependent. It is also under pressure from accumulated external debt.
For Malawian voters, rising prices of food and everyday items are the most pressing issue on the ballot. Food costs have gone up by about 30 percent in the past year, but salaries have largely stayed the same. Meanwhile, the costs of fertiliser for the 80 percent of Malawians who survive on subsistence farming have risen.
Economists chalk up the stagnation crisis to a lack of foreign currency, which has limited crucial imports, including fertilisers and fuel.
Presently, the country is facing severe fuel shortages, with hundreds queuing up at fuel stations daily. Chakwera has blamed corrupt officials, who he says are deliberately sabotaging the fuel markets, for the problem.
In May, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) terminated a $175 million loan programme after it failed to give early results. Only $35 million had been disbursed. There will likely be negotiations for a new IMF programme after the elections, officials have said.
Earlier, in February, disgruntled citizens took to the streets Lilongwe and Blantyre in protest against the rising cost of living. Some voters, particularly the young people, feel that not much will change whether they vote or not.
While Mutharika has campaigned on his economic record while in office, Chakwera has pledged a cash transfer programme of 500,000 Malawi kwacha ($290) for newborns, which they can access at the age of 18.
Workers move bags of fertiliser donated to Malawi by a Russian company [File: Eldson Chagara/Reuters]
Corruption
Corruption crises have riddled both Mutharika and Chakwera’s governments, something many Malawians say they are tired of.
While Chakwera has talked tough on fighting graft since becoming head of state in 2020, he has faced criticism for nepotism scandals and for handling corruption cases selectively.
Meanwhile, candidate Joyce Banda has also promised to fight corruption if elected. As president, Banda fired her entire cabinet in 2013, following news that some government officials were caught with large amounts of cash in their homes.
Drought and extreme weather
Malawi is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries, although it does not contribute significantly to emissions. With the majority of people relying on subsistence farming for food, extreme weather events often hit Malawi especially hard.
Climate activist Chikondi Chabvuta told Al Jazeera that governments in the past have not invested enough in building systems, such as food systems, that can absorb climate shocks. Women and girls, in particular she said, are often most affected by the double whammy of weather disasters and inflation that often follows.
“Creating a buffer for the people impacted should be a priority because science is telling us these events are going to get worse,” Chabvuta said. “Life for Malawians has to get better by policies that show seriousness,” in tackling environmental challenges, she added.
Millions of people were impacted for several months in 2024, after a severe regional drought destroyed harvests, driven by El Nino weather patterns.
According to the World Food Program, hundreds of thousands across the country were forced to rely on food assistance for survival as Malawi declared an emergency.
In February 2023, Cyclone Freddy, which was one of the deadliest storms to hit Africa in the last two decades, caused 1,216 fatalities. It also wiped out crops and caused similar food shortages.
An appeals court ruled Monday that Lisa Cook can remain a Federal Reserve governor, rebuffing President Donald Trump’s efforts to remove her just ahead of a key vote on interest rates.
The Trump administration is expected to quickly turn to the Supreme Court in a last-ditch bid to unseat Cook. The Fed’s next two-day meeting to consider its next interest rate move begins Tuesday morning. And Cook’s lawsuit seeking to permanently block her firing must still make its way through the courts.
The White House campaign to unseat Cook marks an unprecedented bid to reshape the Fed’s seven-member governing board, which was designed to be largely independent from day-to-day politics. No president has fired a sitting Fed governor in the agency’s 112-year history.
Separately, Senate Republicans on Monday confirmed Stephen Miran, Trump’s nominee to an open spot on the Fed’s board. Barring any last-minute intervention from the Supreme Court, the Fed’s interest rate setting committee will meet Tuesday and Wednesday with all seven governors and the 12 regional bank presidents.
Twelve of those 19 officials will vote on changing the central bank’s short-term rate: All seven governors plus five regional presidents, who vote on a rotating basis.
Chair Jerome Powell signaled in a high-profile speech last month the Fed would likely cut its key rate at this meeting, from about 4.3% to 4.1%. Other borrowing costs, such as mortgage rates and car loans, have already declined in anticipation of the cut and could move lower.
Trump sought to fire Cook Aug. 25, but a federal judge ruled last week that the removal was illegal and reinstated her to the Fed’s board. Trump appointee Bill Pulte has accused Cook of mortgage fraud because she appeared to claim two properties as “primary residences” in July 2021, before she joined the board. Such claims can lead to a lower mortgage rate and smaller down payment than if one of them was declared as a rental property or second home. Cook has denied the charges.
In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court found that Cook’s due process rights were violated because the administration did not give her a formal opportunity to respond to the charges.
The attempt to fire Cook is seen by many legal scholars as a threat to erode the Fed’s longtime political independence. Economists prefer independent central banks because they can do unpopular things like lifting interest rates to combat inflation more easily than elected officials.
Many economists worry that if the Fed falls under the control of the White House, it will keep its key interest rate lower than justified by economic fundamentals to satisfy Trump’s demands for cheaper borrowing. That could accelerate inflation and could also push up longer-term interest rates, such as those on mortgages and car loans. Investors may demand a higher yield to own bonds to offset greater inflation in the future, lifting borrowing costs for the U.S. government and the entire economy.
Separately, Miran chairs the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers and said earlier this month he would take unpaid leave but otherwise keep his job while serving on the Fed’s board. It will be the first time in decades that an executive branch official has served at the Fed.
Miran has been appointed to finish a term that expires in January, but he could remain in the seat if no replacement is chosen.
Cook has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime. According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, Cook did specify that her Atlanta condo would be a “vacation home,” according to a loan estimate she obtained in May 2021. And in a form seeking a security clearance, she described it as a “2nd home.” Both documents appear to undercut the administration’s claims of fraud.
Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the administration had not satisfied a legal requirement that Fed governors can only be fired “for cause,” which she said was limited to misconduct while in office. Cook did not join the Fed’s board until 2022.
In their emergency appeal, Trump’s lawyers argued that even if the conduct occurred before her time as governor, her alleged action “indisputably calls into question Cook’s trustworthiness and whether she can be a responsible steward of the interest rates and economy.”
Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell and the other members of the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee for not cutting the short-term interest rate they control more quickly. Trump has said he thinks it should be as low as 1.3%, a level that no Fed official and few economists support.
Cook is the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor. She was a Marshall Scholar and received degrees from Oxford University and Spelman College, and prior to joining the board she taught at Michigan State University and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
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Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.
#20 ranked recruit in the high school class of 2027 Ellis Crisci has announced his commitment to swim and study at Texas beginning in fall 2027. Crisci hails from Lawrence, Kansas.
“I’m proud to announce my verbal commitment to The University of Texas, Austin to pursue my athletic and academic career. I’m so thankful for my parents and family for always supporting my goals and going above and beyond to give me the opportunity to achieve them. To my coach Tom Kleiboeker, thank you for transforming me as an athlete but also as a person. Thank you as well to all my Tsunami Kc teammates. And of course I’m extremely grateful to Coach Bowman, Coach Erik, Coach Trevor, and the entire staff at Texas for giving me this opportunity.”
Crisci swims for Tsunami Swim Team of KC and finished his long course season at the Pro Championships where he was 10th in the 800 free in a 8:05.94. A week prior, he swam at Summer Juniors where he had numerous top 8 swims. He finished 2nd in the 1500 free in a 15:22.95, 6th in the 800 free in a 8:05.88, and 5th in the 400 free in a lifetime best 3:54.02.
This past March, he finished his short course yards season at Sectionals in Columbia. There he posted lifetime bests in the 200 free (1:38.75), 500 free (4:20.75), 1000 free (8:55.28), 200 fly (1:49.05), and 400 IM (3:54.06).
Crisci’s Best SCY Times Are:
1650 free: 15:12.83
500 free: 4:20.75
200 free: 1:38.61
200 fly: 1:49.05
400 IM: 3:54.06
The Texas men captured the 2025 NCAA team title in Bob Bowman‘s first season with the Longhorns after previously leading Arizona State to an NCAA title in 2024. Leading the way for the Longhorns was Hubert Kos as he won the 100 back, 200 back, and 200 IM.
Based on his best times, Crisci is just off what it took to score at the conference level in the 1650 free as it took a 15:04.12 to make the top 24. Crisci still has two years before his arrival on campus. Rex Maurer was the team’s top 1650 freestyler this past season as he swam to a 14:25.22 for 2nd at 2025 NCAAs.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to Recruits@swimswam.com.
About the Fitter and Faster Swim Tour
Fitter & Faster Swim Camps feature the most innovative teaching platforms for competitive swimmers of all levels. Camps are produced year-round throughout the USA and Canada. All camps are led by elite swimmers and coaches. Visit fitterandfaster.com to find or request a swim camp near you.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first intranasal diuretic for heart, liver and kidney disease patients, aiming to prevent a common and costly issue that results in more than a million hospitalizations each year.
Enbumyst, a bumetanide nasal spray developed by Corstasis Therapeutics, is the first intranasal loop diuretic to be cleared for use in the US. The therapy is indicated for the treatment of edema associated with congestive heart failure, liver disease and kidney disease, including nephrotic syndrome, in adults.
Edema and fluid overload are among the most common and costly complications of chronic illness, leading to more than one million hospital admissions each year in the US alone. Oral diuretics are widely prescribed but can be limited by poor absorption and delayed onset, while intravenous (IV) diuretics require hospital or infusion center administration.
The new nasal spray, Enbumyst, is designed to bridge the gap, offering patients a self-administered outpatient option to prevent reliance on the hospital system. In clinical studies conducted between December 2023 and April 2024, featuring 68 adults aged 18 to 55 years, the nasal spray demonstrated rapid absorption and a predictable diuretic effect comparable to IV bumetanide, including similar impacts on urine volume, sodium excretion and potassium levels. The therapy may allow earlier intervention outside the hospital, potentially reducing readmissions and easing the financial burden on the healthcare system.
“The FDA approval of Enbumyst represents a meaningful advancement in the treatment of edema for patients and providers,” said Ben Esque, Chief Executive Officer of Corstasis Therapeutics.
The therapy could shift the standard of care for heart failure patients in particular. The drug had a robust safety and tolerability record throughout the clinical trial stages, with the most common side effects reported being hypovolemia, headache, muscle cramps, dizziness and nausea.
“[Bumetanide nasal spray] offers the potential to change the standard of care by enabling earlier, outpatient intervention,” said Anuradha Lala-Trindade, MD, the director of heart failure research at the Mount Sinai Fuster Hospital in New York. “This innovation may meaningfully improve outcomes while potentially easing the economic burden on the healthcare system.”
Corstasis Therapeutics is expected to launch Enbumyst in late 2025.
Voting is under way after polls opened early on Tuesday
Malawians are voting in presidential and parliamentary elections, following a turbulent five years that has seen the economic crisis worsening in the southern African nation.
President Lazarus Chakwera is vying for a second term, his main rival being Peter Mutharika, an octogenarian who has previously been in office.
In the cities, campaigning has been overshadowed by fuel shortages, which have led to long, frustrating queues at petrol stations. The rising cost of living has also been a major concern of voters.
A presidential run-off will be held if no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes cast in Tuesday’s election.
What are Malawians voting for?
The 7.2 million registered voters will be taking part in three elections once polling stations open at 04:00 GMT:
Presidential – there are 17 candidates to choose from
Parliamentary – 229 constituency MPs will be elected
Local – 509 councillor positions are up for grabs.
Who could be the next president?
AFP via Getty Images
Lazarus Chakwera (L) and Peter Mutharika (R) have faced each other at the ballot before
Among the 17 hopefuls there are two clear front-runners.
Chakwera and Mutharika will square off against each other at the polls for the fourth time – though the third time ended up not counting.
Mutharika first defeated Chakwera in 2014, but when he was declared winner over Chakwera in the next election in 2019 the result was annulled. Chakwera won the re-run the following year.
Lazarus Chakwera – Malawi Congress Party (MCP)
Chakwera, a former theology lecturer and preacher, had no political experience when he emerged as leader of the MCP in 2013.
Chakwera’s time in office has been marred by economic turmoil and allegations of corruption. The 70-year-old did, however, reintroduce train services in Malawi for the first time in over three decades. He has also overseen major road construction across the country.
Peter Mutharika – Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
Mutharika, an 85-year-old former lawyer and law lecturer, led Malawi from 2014 to 2020.
He is the brother of the late President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died in office in 2012.
Like Chakwera, Mutharika is also burdened by corruption allegations and links to economic crises. However, his supporters would argue that the current high inflation rate (around 27%) is proof that Mutharika managed the economy better than his successor.
Mutharika’s age may count against him this election – speculation about his health is rife, especially as he has rarely been seen out in public during the campaign period.
Other contenders garnering attention are former president Joyce Banda (People’s Party), current Vice-President Michael Usi (Odya Zake Alibe Mlandu)and former reserve bank governor Dalitso Kabambe (UTM).
The country was devastated by Cyclone Freddy that killed hundreds of people in 2023, then a drought swept across southern Africa the following year. Food prices skyrocketed due to a short supply of crops, pushing many Malawians into extreme poverty.
Economists also put Malawi’s current inflation problems partly down to the shortage of foreign currencies – known as “forex” – in the banks.
In addition, Malawi has been forced to devalue its currency and was recently crippled by fuel shortages and nationwide power outages.
Corruption
When Chakwera came to power, he vowed to “to clear the rubble of corruption” that has long plagued Malawian politics. His administration says it has excelled in this area, but critics – including the influential Catholic Church – say this is not the case.
Scepticism was sparked last year when the director of public prosecutions dropped corruption charges against high-profile figures.
Additionally, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has been without a director since former boss Martha Chizuma left more than a year ago.
To some, the failure to appoint a new head actively hinders the fight against corruption.
Banda’s reputation was dented by a scandal dubbed “cashgate” which happened under her watch. She was cleared by the ACB of any wrongdoing.
The former vice-president’s death
In June last year, Vice-President Saulos Chilima died in a plane crash. Popular with the youth, Chilima led the UTM party and could have been a key contender in the upcoming elections, especially as he had fallen out with the president.
Although two investigations – one carried out by Germany’s aviation accidents agency and another by a Malawi government-appointed commission – did not find evidence of foul play, some Malawians remain suspicious of the authorities.
Opposition parties have been fuelling this scepticism during their campaigns, referring to Chakwera’s party as the “Chikangawa Party” (Chikangawa Forest being the site of the plane crash).
AFP via Getty Images
Hundreds in Malawi lost their lives to Cyclone Freddy
What has happened in previous elections?
Malawi was governed by the MCP from its independence in 1964 until the country’s first multi-party poll in 1994.
Since the shift from a one-party state, the United Democratic Front, the DPP, the People’s Party and the MCP have all enjoyed stints in power.
Chakwera’s victory with the MCP in 2020 was one of the most significant moments in the country’s political history.
A general election had taken place the year before and Mutharika was declared the winner.
Judges ordered a re-run for 2020, and Chakwera won with 59% of the vote after having teamed up with Chilima.
Although Mutharika branded the re-run “unacceptable”, the Constitutional Court gained international acclaim for safeguarding democracy and refusing to be influenced by presidential power.
How will Tuesday’s presidential vote work?
Following the controversy of the 2019 election, Malawi implemented a new system, where a candidate must gain more than 50% of the total votes to win the presidency in the first round.
There is a strong possibility that this year’s candidates will not reach the threshold, meaning a run-off election will have to be held.
The MCP and DPP will likely try to bring smaller parties on board in order to secure a majority in the second round.
The electoral commission has up until the end of 24 September to announce the presidential result in Tuesday’s poll and the end of 30 September for the parliamentary election.
Counting is due to begin at polling stations as soon as voting ends at 14:00 GMT.
Will the elections be free and fair?
The court’s actions following the 2019 vote have given some Malawians faith in the electoral process.
However, over the past months, a number or civil society organisations and opposition parties have accused the electoral commission of favouring the MCP, alleging that its top management has links to the governing party. The commission has firmly denied being biased.
A protest in June calling for the resignation of the commission’s top officials was attacked by masked, machete-wielding men, leading to concerns about freedom of expression in the run-up to the election.
The assault was not an isolated incident – there have been numerous reports of politically motivated violence ahead of the general election.
MBW Explains is a series of analytical features in which we explore the context behind major music industry talking points – and suggest what might happen next. Only MBW+ subscribers have unlimited access to these articles. MBW Explains is supported by Reservoir.
Spotify just announced that it’s giving more away to its free users.
The platform confirmed earlier today (September 15) that its ad-supported users can now search for songs – and manually play tracks from playlists and albums for the first time on mobile.
They can also press play on specific tracks shared by their friends.
Previously, mobile users of Spotify ‘free’ were largely locked into a shuffle-only playing experience.
Despite these perks, Spotify is remaining careful not to make its ‘free’ tier as pleasurable to use as its ‘Premium’ paid-for tier.
Of course, ‘free’ users will still receive interruptive audio ads. Non-premium listeners will also be limited to a certain number (TBC) of minutes per day for on-demand playback.
In addition, ‘free’ users won’t be able to ‘cue’ songs to follow the ones they’re currently listening to.
Spotify is betting that its improved free service will increase engagement, boost ad revenues, help retain free users, and ultimately convert ad-supported users to Premium subscribers.
Speaking exclusively with MBW, Gustav Gyllenhammar, Spotify’s VP of Markets and Subscriptions, says that “having both free and premium is the cornerstone of Spotify’s strategy” but that the company “felt it was time to give Free a glow-up”.
He noted that 60% of current Premium subscribers started on Spotify’s free tier, making user engagement on the ‘free’ tier crucial for long-term growth.
Here are five key insights from our exclusive conversation with Gyllenhammar about Spotify’s new pricing strategy:
JarTee/Shutterstock
1) Spotify has made this move in response to young users… who’ve likely been bouncing to YouTube and TikTok.
Gyllenhammar indicated that the new changes to Spotify ‘free’ were in part motivated by shifts in media consumption habits, particularly among younger users.
“When you look at Gen Z and teenagers… they really felt like the old Spotify free experience on mobile was almost broken, in the sense that they tried to tap on things and it didn’t work,” Gyllenhammar explained.
He said Spotify saw “retention challenges with an experience that is not living up to users’ needs” as a result.
“We continuously keep our finger on the pulse of where young users are going, and we’ve seen user behavior both on social media and other video streaming platforms, where consumers are expecting the ability to choose what they consume.”
Gustav Gyllenhammar
Gyllenhammar also acknowledged the competitive landscape.
“We continuously keep our finger on the pulse of where young users are going, and we’ve seen user behavior both on social media and other video streaming platforms, where consumers are expecting the ability to choose what they consume.
“That’s something that we felt was very important for this change as well on Spotify ‘free’ – that you are able to have more freedom in picking your specific content,” he said.
However, he emphasized that Spotify’s Premium offering maintains clear advantages: “We think the clear benefits of Premium over time will lead to a continued strong conversion [rate] to premium because of offline [playback], superior sound quality, all these extra features, and the advertising-free environment, which is very important for most use cases.”
SOPA/Alamy
2) Spotify says it would never launch additional free streaming elements without ‘alignment’ with large music rightsholders
Gyllenhammar emphasized the importance of getting the thumbs-up from industry partners before implementing the freemium updates.
“We obviously have alignment with our industry partners on this feature,” he said. “We would never go with something like this unless they were aligned.
“We obviously have alignment with our industry partners on this feature.”
Gustav Gyllenhammar
The executive positioned the ‘free’ enhancements as part of a broader collaborative strategy with music rightsholders: “It is very important for us, as well as for our industry partners, to continue to drive increased monetization for the music industry.
“We think together, we’ve only scratched the surface of the opportunities there.
“Obviously we have the core subscription [tier] today, which drives revenue, but [via] a deeper partnership, we think there’s a win-win solution that we can build for driving more revenue streams for the future.”
Premium subscriptions continue to generate around 90% of Spotify’s total revenue.
Auguras Pipiras via Unsplash
3. Spotify feels there was ‘no longer an ability to charge [extra] for lossless audio’.
The fact these benefits are being added to Spotify’s standard Premium tier – rather than being kept as exclusive benefits for its long-rumored “Super Premium” tier – has raised key questions about the company’s pricing and audience growth strategy.
When asked why Spotify hadn’t reserved lossless audio access for a new, higher-priced tier, Gyllenhammar said: “We obsess about the value-to-price ratio for our premium customers, so that consumers feel like they’re getting the benefits out of the subscription.
“That ensures our retention, lowers churn, and means that the lifetime value of our customer stays very high.”
“Where the general DSP landscape was going was that there was no longer an ability to charge for lossless as a separate function or as an add-on.”
Gustav Gyllenhammar
He argued that industry dynamics had shifted around lossless pricing: “Where the general DSP landscape was going was that there was no longer an ability to charge for lossless as a separate function or as an add-on.”
Discussing what user benefits might be left for Spotify’s ‘super-premium’ launch, Gyllenhammar said: “Together with our industry partners, we still have a job to do to come up with more interesting and exciting products that we could layer on top of the current subscription landscape.”
Venti Views/Unsplash
4. Could Spotify charge a nominal fee for ad-supported services in mature markets?
MBW asked Gyllenhammar about the prospect of introducing a nominal subscription fee to access Spotify’s ad-supported services in certain ‘mature’ markets – i.e. ending completely ‘free’ access to Spotify.
Doing so would bring Spotify’s pricing model more in line with that of Netflix, whose cheapest tier – ‘Netflix with Ads’ – costs $7.99 per month in the United States.
Responding to the question, Gyllenhammar emphasized the strategic value for Spotify of maintaining a truly free entry point.
“Free is obviously very dear to us,” he said. “That ability for users to start on a non-paid experience, that’s where general entertainment platforms also allow users to consume music.”
(What does he mean by ‘general entertainment platforms’? Almost certainly YouTube.)
Gyllenhammar reiterated that 60% of Spotify’s paid-for users today began on the service’s free tier: “It’s important that we continue to pull young users into a high-performing conversion funnel, which ends in a subscription. No one has really shown that to the same extent as Spotify.”
“It’s important that we continue to pull young users into a high-performing conversion funnel, which ends in a subscription. No one has really shown that to the same extent as Spotify.”
Gustav Gyllenhammar
Beyond new user acquisition, the free tier serves another crucial function, according to Gyllenhammar.
“The other part also being that it’s also an incredibly effective safety net and rebound net for people who temporarily might not be able to pay for a subscription – they can pause for a month, fall out of premium and then come back,” he said.
Gyllenhammar added: “A lot of the secret sauce of Spotify’s subscription growth is not just that we can pull both younger users in at the free end of the funnel… but the fact that it serves as a safety net for churn and resubscription into premium is almost as important as the new user sign-up.”
5. The new move will be a ‘a boon for Spotify’s advertising business’
According to Gyllenhammar, testing across multiple markets over 18 months prior to the global roll-out of the new freemium updates had a positive impact on MAU retention rates.
He explained that the increased free engagement will be “a boon for our advertising business” due to the “increased free audience, as well as more time spent on the platform for free users, and also more focused time spent for free users – because you can go in and pick your songs and so on”.
Gyllenhammar added: “We can now have much higher-performing advertising units for our users. So we also feel strongly that this should be something that can drive accelerated profitability and revenue generation on the free tier from advertisers. That’s another part of why this move is important for us.”
“We can now have much higher-performing advertising units for our users [on the free tier].”
Gustav Gyllenhammar
Spotify’s Ad-Supported Revenue in Q2 2025 was €453 million ($514m), up5% YoY on a constant currency basis but down 1% YoY in real terms.
On a Q2 earnings call in July, Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek said: “As I look at our progress, the one area that hasn’t yet met your expectations is our Ads business. We’ve simply been moving too slowly and it’s taken longer than expected to see the improvements we initiated to take hold.
“It’s really an execution challenge, not a problem with the strategy.”
Shortly before Ek made that comment to investors, Spotify former Global Head of Sales, Lee Brown, left the firm and joined DoorDash.
Spotify’s Q2 financial summary
Reservoir (Nasdaq: RSVR) is a publicly traded, global independent music company with operations across music publishing, recorded music, and artist management.Music Business Worldwide
The city’s Democratic mayor, Paul Young, says the ‘decision has been made’ but he does not think it will drive down crime.
US President Donald Trump will extend federal law enforcement action to the city of Memphis, Tennessee, in a move that will include sending in National Guard troops and setting up a “Memphis State Task Force” to tackle crime, though police say overall criminal offences are at a 25-year low.
Trump announced the move in an executive order on Monday to rid Memphis of what he called the “tremendous levels of violent crime that have overwhelmed its local government’s ability to respond effectively”.
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The executive order did not set out a timeline for when the Memphis task force, which will also include the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the US Marshals Service, will be deployed.
Trump described the task force as a “replica” of his crackdown on Washington, DC, in August, according to the Associated Press news agency, which saw the US president deploy the National Guard on the streets of the US capital.
Trump has pushed for a similar military involvement in policing in Baltimore and Chicago, which, like Memphis and Washington, DC, are Democratic strongholds.
Trump’s Memphis task force has the backing of Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, who joined Trump in the White House for the announcement.
“I have been in office for seven years. I’m tired of crime holding the great city of Memphis back,” Lee said during a signing ceremony.
In recent weeks, @POTUS has restored law & order to DC.
Today, I was proud to stand with him as he signed an order to do the same for another American city: Memphis. In 2024, Memphis had the highest rate of violent crime per capita – nearly 7 times the national average.
Memphis’s Democratic mayor, Paul Young, said on X that he did not think deploying the National Guard would drive down crime, but “the decision has been made”.
“Yesterday morning, we learned that the Governor & President have decided to place the National Guard & other resources in Memphis, which they have the authority to do. I want to be clear: I did not ask for the National Guard and I don’t think it is the way to drive down crime,” Young said on X.
Yesterday morning, we learned that the Governor & President have decided to place the National Guard & other resources in Memphis, which they have the authority to do.
I want to be clear: I did not ask for the National Guard and I don’t think it is the way to drive down crime. pic.twitter.com/gYO2LSEtC5
Memphis is known globally for its music industry and its historic ties to rock and roll, soul and the blues. Last year, it reported the highest violent crime rate among US cities of 100,000 people or more, according to 2024 FBI crime data.
A review by Al Jazeera of FBI crime statistics found the rate of violent crime – which includes murder, negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – for Memphis was 2,501 per 100,000 people in 2024. The city was followed by Oakland, California, at 1,925 per 100,000 and Detroit, Michigan, at 1,781 per 100,000 people.
Memphis police, however, say this figure does not paint a full picture of the city’s violent crime situation amid “historic crime reductions” in the first eight months of 2025.
“Overall crime is at a 25-year low, with robbery, burglary, and larceny also reaching 25-year lows. Murder is at a six-year low, aggravated assault at a five-year low, and sexual assault at a twenty-year low,” police said last week.
Despite this decline, the city reported 146 homicides so far in 2025 and 4,308 cases of aggravated assault.
AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images
Getty Images/BBC
