Spotify increases subscription prices in UK and US for the first time

Spotify has increased its subscription prices for the first time, affecting users in the UK and the US.

The change in price marks the first time that the cost of subscription has increased in the 10 years since the streaming service launched.

For the UK, the Premium plan now costs £10.99 per month, up from the previous price of £9.99 monthly. Various plans for multiple users have also gone up by £1 per month, with a Duo subscription now priced at £14.99 and a Family plan – covering six people – now faring at £17.99. So far, the only plan to remain unchanged is the Spotify student subscription, which remains at £5.99 each month.

The same can be said for those with subscription plans in the United States, as a Premium subscription has increased from $10 to $11 monthly, while Duo plans have increased from $13 to $15 and Family plans have gone from $16 to $17.

For US users, the cost of student plans has also increased to $6 per month – one dollar more than before.

In a blog post, Spotify said that the price increase was related to pressures from the record industry, and would allow it to continue to grow in an ever-expanding market.

“The market landscape has continued to evolve since we launched. So that we can keep innovating, we are changing our Premium prices across a number of markets around the world,” it read. “These updates will help us continue to deliver value to fans and artists on our platform.”

It also confirmed that it would be notifying all of its customers about the changing prices over email.

At time of writing, all four subscription plans come with a one-month free trial for new customers and the free option is also still available – offering access with adverts and limited playback functionality.

According to Evening Standard, plans for a price hike have been in the works for months, with Spotify CEO Daniel EK previously stating that the company was “ready to raise prices” and “would like to do that in 2023”. It also reports that Spotify was discussing the plan with record labels.

As per the outlet, the streaming platform has an average of 515million users globally, with around 210million paying to subscribe. The new prices mean that the classic subscription now costs the same as other rival brands Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited.

So far, YouTube Music is the only platform that remains at the £9.99 monthly fee, although this seems likely to change as it recently upped its price in the United States, with American users now paying $10.99.

In other Spotify news, back in April, the brand reported that it would be shutting down its live audio app Spotify Live, with the company saying it “no longer makes sense as a standalone app”.

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