Spotify raises its premium prices almost everywhere
Spotify is increasing the cost of its music streaming service in most territories, in a move that brings pricing in the rest of the world in line with its North American plans.
Spotify Premium's going to be more expensive, but not in the U.S.
During 2024, Spotify continued its trend of increasing its pricing over time, bringing its U.S. service to $11.99 for an individual plan. One year later, it is preparing similar increases in other territories.
In a notice released on Monday, Spotify says that Premium subscribers in markets across South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region will soon face a price increase. Emails will be sent out to subscribers throughout August, warning of the price rises.
As for the level of the increase, Spotify doesn't specify how much it will be. However, the example email proposes that a Premium Individual plan will go from 10.99 euros ($12.72) to 11.99 euros ($13.88) per month.
In explaining the price change, Spotify says it is an occasional update, and that it is committed to providing a "world-class" experience to users.
The changes impact practically all countries aside from the United States and Canada. In effect, the price increases bring the rest of the world in line with North American pricing.
In 2023, Spotify raised the U.S. subscriber price from $9.99 to $10.99, before making a similar dollar increase in 2024.
The price rises follow after Spotify reported poor earnings, claiming revenue of 4.19 billion euros ($4.85 billion) versus expectations of 4.26 billion euro ($4.93 billion). While a 10% year-over-year improvement in revenue, it still posted a net loss of 86 million euros ($99.6 million) for the period, down from a net profit of 225 million euros in the year-ago quarter.
While not able to affect the most recent quarter, Spotify may benefit from a change it made to its iOS and iPadOS apps in future quarters. An update to the Spotify app in May included support for direct purchases and payments, avoiding the usual 30-percent fee for in-app purchases.
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Comments
Their "premium" plans appear to still only include compressed, lossy audio, and they're more expensive than Apple Music, which does include lossless, spatial and a second specialized app for classical music. Also, Apple pays artists better.
Interesting.