By: Nick Gambino
Spotify has announced that they’re raising prices on paid subscriptions for the second time in less than a year for US subscribers. This is after announcing a price increase for international subscribers back in May.
Why? Because they can. Spotify sits on the tippy top of the audio streaming mountain and occasionally bumping their price by a nominal amount is an easy pill to swallow for subscribers and a boon to the streamer’s bottom line.
“On Spotify, users discover and enjoy music, podcasts, and audiobooks,” a Spotify blog post reads. “So that we can continue to invest in and innovate on our product features and bring users the best experience, we occasionally update our prices.”
The price changes that will go into effect in the coming weeks are as follows:
- Individual ad-free Premium – $10.99 is going up to $11.99
- Duo ad-free Premium – $14.99 is going up to $16.99
- Family ad-free Premium – $16.99 is going up to $19.99
For those taking advantage of the Student ad-free Premium plan, that one is staying the same at the low $5.99 price.
Considering that Spotify boasts a whopping 239 million Premium subscribers, this price hike signifies a pretty hefty uptick in monthly revenue. And this is just from subscription payments and doesn’t include money they’re getting from advertisers who have snagged spots on their ad-supported plans.
These price increases have some people talking about how Spotify compares to that other popular music streamer, Apple Music. Spotify has to get busy adding some bigger, more robust features. We’re still waiting for the launch of the streaming service’s Supremium plan which is rumored to include lossless audio or hi-fi music as well as a ton of other premier features.
If you’re a paid Spotify subscriber you’ll receive an email in the month explaining the price increase relevant to your exact plan. These prices seem to be in effect immediately for any new subscribers.
