It was a typical Wednesday evening for Alex, a college student with a passion for music. As she sat in her dorm room, surrounded by stacks of books and notes, she craved something to take her mind off the looming exams. She fired up her phone and opened Spotify, her go-to music streaming app. But as she scrolled through her playlists, she was reminded of the limitations of her free account - ads, limited skips, and no offline listening.