It’s Spotify’s turn to increase prices
After 12 years, the price of Spotify Premium is increasing in the US. The subscription will now cost $10.99 a month, the company announced today. Spotify has charged $9.99 for its Premium subscription ever since its launch in the US in 2011. “So that we can keep innovating, we are changing our Premium prices across a number of markets around the world,” the company wrote in a post announcing the increase. “These updates will help us continue to deliver value to fans and artists on our platform.”
As well as increasing the price of a single Premium subscription, the cost of Duo will increase from $12.99 to $14.99, Family will increase from $15.99 to $16.99, and Student will increase from $4.99 to $5.99. According to an FAQ, existing subscribers will get a one month grace period before the new pricing takes effect.
Similar price increases are being made internationally. For example, in the UK an individual plan will now cost £10.99 (up from £9.99), Duo will cost £14.99 (up from £13.99), Family will cost £17.99 (up from £16.99), and the price of a student plan will stay the same at £5.99. Meanwhile in France an individual plan will cost €10.99 (up from €9.99), Duo will cost €14.99 (up from €12.99), a family plan will cost €17.99 (up from €15.99), and a student plan will cost €5.99 (up from €4.99).
Spotify’s increase isn’t entirely unexpected
Spotify’s increase isn’t entirely unexpected considering every other major music streaming service has announced a price increase in recent months. Apple was first last October, Amazon followed in January this year, and both Tidal and YouTube Music Premium announced increases this month. In every case the core price change was the same, a $1 increase in the cost of a standard individual monthly subscription from $9.99 to $10.99.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek previously hinted at a price increase during an April earnings call, when he said the company was “ready to raise prices.” The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Spotify would announce its price increase this week.
Although the price of Spotify’s Premium plan has remained consistent for over a decade, that hasn’t been the case for its other subscription tiers. In 2021, the company increased the price of its family subscription from $14.99 to $15.99 in the US, for example, while in the UK and some European counties it also hiked the prices of its Student and two-person Duo plans alongside its Family plan.
The complete list of countries seeing a price increase as part of today’s announcement are below:
Source: The Verge
