Spotify plans to raise prices in some countries. Here's how it may affect you
Spotify subscribers may have to dig deeper in their wallets as another price increase seems to be on its way.
By the end of April, the streaming service will bump up its subscription prices by around $1 to $2 per month in five key markets, including the UK, Australia, and Pakistan, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Prices will also rise in the US later in 2024, the sources added.
Specifically, individual premium plans will go up by around $1 per month, while duo plans for couples and family plans will increase by $2 per month. Spotify's premium plan currently costs $10.99 per month, its duo plan costs $14.99 per month, and its family plan costs $16.99 per month.
Also: How to add local files to your Spotify library in 3 steps
The price hike is designed to help defray the cost of audiobooks, which Spotify added to its repertoire in November 2023. Spotify lets Premium subscribers listen to as many as 15 hours of audiobooks each month for free. Spotify collects money only from users who go beyond those 15 hours, but the company still has to pay publishers for the books, which explains why the measure may so far be a losing proposition.
To further deal with the audiobook costs, Spotify also plans to unveil a new basic tier that will offer only music and podcasts at the current $10.99 premium subscription price, according to Bloomberg. Anyone who opts for that plan would need to pay extra to listen to audiobooks.
The planned price increase will mark the second time that Spotify raises subscription prices in about a year. In July 2023, the company boosted the price for its individual premium plan from $9.99 to $10.99, the first increase since the service launched in 2011. At the same time, the company increased the prices of its student plan to $5.99 per month and its family plan to $16.99 per month. The duo plan saw the biggest increase: from $12.99/month to $14.99/month.
Raising subscription prices is a measure that could have easily backfired on Spotify, but the company gained 113 million new free and paid users in 2023. Spotify ended the year with 602 million users in total, including 236 million paying subscribers.
Spotify's price increases follow similar moves by other music streaming services. In October 2022, Apple raised the monthly price for an Apple Music subscription by $1 to $10.99 for individuals and by $2 to $16.99 for families. In August 2023, Amazon bumped up the price of its Music Unlimited individual plan for Prime members from $9 per month to $10 per month, or from $89 per year to $99 per year.
Also: Spotify's new 'psychic' feature answers your burning questions with song suggestions
As yet another way to generate more cash, Spotify today unveiled a new service called Live Experiences, Adweek reported. The advertising-driven product is designed to let brands and companies sponsor Spotify Live events.
The company plans to hold anywhere from five to 20 Live Experiences, which anyone can attend for free, in the next 12 months. Each event will focus on a different theme, including events tied to Spotify's playlist franchises, cultural moments in music, podcasts produced by The Ringer, and Spotify's own licensed podcasts.