Spotify will raise prices in five markets later this month and will do the same in the US later this year, Bloomberg References. Spotify previously raised the price of its single premium plan by $1 in North and South America, Europe and Asia last year.
The initial round of new price increases – $1 a month for singles, $2 a month for twins and families – will hit the UK, Australia and Pakistan, among others, according to Bloomberg.
A spokesperson for Spotify declined to comment.
In recent years, music rights holders have regularly asked streaming services to raise prices. Appearing at a Morgan Stanley conference last year, Warner Music Group Robert Kyncl noted that the price of individual streaming subscription plans continued to lag inflation.
“We're the lowest-cost form of entertainment,” Kyncl said of music. “We have the highest…engagement, the highest form of relevance and the lowest price per hour. This doesn't seem right. It should change in an orderly fashion.”
Last year, Barclays estimated that a 10% price increase for all music subscription services would increase Universal Music Group's revenue by $430 million and Warner Music Group's revenue by $256 million.
Spotify moved to raise prices — $10.99 per month for individuals, $16.99 per month for families — in July 2023. “The market landscape has continued to evolve since we started,” the company He wrote in a blog post. “To continue to innovate, we are changing our Premium pricing in different markets around the world. These updates will help us continue to deliver value to fans and artists on our platform.”
Bloomberg also reported on Wednesday (April 3) that Spotify plans to introduce a new payment tier: $11 a month for people who want access to just music and podcasts. These users will have to pay separately for audiobooks.
Spotify turned a profit in the third quarter of 2023, its first in a year. The company posted an operating loss of 75 million euros (about $80 million) in the fourth quarter. It now has more than 600 million users.
Spotify's share price rose about 5.5% ($284) in morning trading, after briefly rising as much as 7.4%.
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