Spotify confirms the price increase as the premium plan goes up to $10.99/month in the US
Spotify has announced that it’s raising the price of its premium plan, justifies the first reports to surface over the weekend.
The music streaming giant, which claims around 500 million users globally, 40% of which are premium subscribers, revealed that its premium ad-free subscription plan will increase from $9.99 per month to $10.99 in the US, while its Duo plan will increase by $2 to $14.99. The family plan, meanwhile, increases by $1 to $16.99 and the student plan also increases by $5.99 monthly.
The increase in subscriptions is not limited to the US market, with Spotify confirming that it will increase its prices in dozens of markets, including the European Union (EU), UK, and parts of South and Central America, Asia, and Oceania.
The company has yet to confirm pricing for these markets, saying that those affected will start receiving emails starting today confirming their new rates. However, it is likely that subscribers in the EU will see their price for the main premium plan increase by one euro to €11.99 per month, while UK listeners will probably see their premium subscription increase by £1 to £10.99 per month.
Income
The price increase is significant, so far it’s the first time Spotify has changed its premium pricing plans since its early days, whereas streaming partners like Netflix regularly update their price tiers.
It’s also worth noting that today’s announcement comes a day before Spotify will report Q2 2023 earnings, with a one-channel price hike clear for the Swedish company to increase its earnings in its push toward continued profitability — and, ultimately, keep its shareholders happy.
Apple also increased its premium subscription from $9.99 to $10.99 last October, so today’s news is essentially aligning Spotify with its main music streaming rival.
Reports surfaced earlier this year that Spotify was working on a new subscription plan that would give users access to higher quality “lossless” music, and it would reportedly launch in the US later this year for a tentative price of $19.99 per month.
