Spotify is set to increase its monthly premium plan prices in the US. The increase, which will come into effect next month, will see the premium subscription cost $11.99 monthly while the Duo plan will be raised by $2 at $16.99. Similarly, the family plan will go up by $3 to cost $19.99 monthly. However, the student plan will remain unchanged at $5.99 per month. Existing subscribers will pay the new prices, while new customers will be charged the new prices immediately.
Last summer, Spotify increased its subscription prices for the first time ever since the streaming service launched. At the time, the premium plan cost £10.99 per month for UK users, up from the previous price of £9.99 monthly. In the US, the premium subscription increased from $10 to $11 per month. Earlier this year, the streaming service implemented a price hike in its streaming plans in five markets, including the UK, Australia, and Pakistan.
Price hikes come as Spotify announced they made record profits of over €1 billion (£860m). In 2023, Spotify announced that it was laying off 17 per cent of its workforce to save costs, and a year previously laid off 6 per cent of its staff to promote “speed.” In addition, the streaming service unveiled its streaming policy, meaning all songs on the platform with less than 1,000 streams are officially demonetized. The move has attracted criticism for making it harder for musicians to generate royalties from their music.
Spotify stated that the subscription price hike was done to keep innovating and delivering value to fans, the music industry, and creators on the platform. Existing subscribers in the UK have been communicated with to explain what the price hike means for their accounts. Nonetheless, comments by Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, claiming it’s more affordable and more effortless than ever to create “content” have drawn criticism from musicians and music lovers. Spotify’s rival, Tidal, also responded to the comments, tweeting, “Come on, Daniel. Art is priceless and its ‘cost’ is much more than just money, it’s heart and effort.
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