Music streaming service Spotify is increasing its premium subscription prices in several countries including the US, UK, Hong Kong, and Singapore, as it seeks to boost its profitability amid rising competition and costs.
The price hike, which took effect on Monday, is the first since Spotify launched in the US in 2011. It affects all premium plans, which offer ad-free listening and offline downloads.
According to Spotify’s website, the new monthly prices in the US are:
- $10.99 for the individual plan (up from $9.99)
- $14.99 for the duo plan (up from $12.99)
- $16.99 for the family plan (up from $15.99)
- $5.99 for the student plan (up from $4.99)
The duo plan is for two people living at the same address, while the family plan is for up to six people living at the same address.
Spotify said it notified its existing subscribers about the price change via email and app notifications and gave them a one-month grace period to keep their current price before the new one kicks in.
Countries that will see an increase in premium subscription prices include Andorra, Albania, Argentina, Austria, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Croatia, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Serbia, Sweden, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, San Marino, Thailand, Türkiye, United States, and Kosovo.
However, Spotify users in the Philippines will not see any change in their bills, as the company has decided to keep its prices unchanged in the country for now.
Spotify’s premium plans in the Philippines are:
- P7 /day for the mini plan
- P149 /mo ($2.55) for the individual plan
- P185 /mo ($3.35) for the duo plan
- P214 /mo ($3.94) for the family plan
- P75 /mo ($1.29) for the student plan
Spotify did not explain why it chose to exclude the Philippines from its price increase, but it may be due to the country’s lower purchasing power and higher piracy rates compared to other markets.
Spotify faces fierce competition from other streaming services such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal, which have also raised prices this year.
Spotify is expected to report its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. In the first quarter, it had 356 million monthly active users and 158 million premium subscribers worldwide.
