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Spotify Premium is raising prices for the first time ever
For the first time ever, Spotify subscribers will be paying a little more.
Right on the heels of a price hike from Peacock, a rate increase from YouTube Premium, and an announcement that Netflix is eliminating its lowest-cost ad-free subscription plan, Spotify is joining the price-raising ranks. Starting today, new subscribers will pay an extra $1 a month for the ad-free version of the music service, bringing the price to $10.99. This is the first price increase since the service launched in 2011. Current subscribers will start paying the new price next month.
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Two other Spotify plans are also increasing by $1. The student plan is increasing to $5.99 a month and the premium family plan, which lets six family members under one roof share a subscription, will be $16.99. The duo plan, good for two people who live together, is actually getting the largest increase of all, jumping $2 a month from $12.99 to $14.99.
The service's free plan, with limited features and ads, remains the same.
The move to $10.99 a month brings Spotify exactly in line with YouTube Music, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, all of which raised their prices within the past year.
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Globally, Spotify is the most popular music streaming service from this bunch, with Apple Music and Amazon Music right behind. But considering only the United States, the top two spots flip, with Apple Music being the most popular.
Spotify Premium gained 5 million new subscribers in the first quarter of this year, bringing its total to 210 million worldwide. Add in free, ad-supported listeners and that number more than doubles to 515 million. While the uptick in subscribers exceeded what Spotify projected for the quarter, total revenue fell short of the target, leading the company to look for ways to increase its finances.