Music-streaming company Spotify is raising the price of its ad-free Premium service in around 53 countries, including the U.S., Australia, Canada, UK, and Hong Kong. The change will see prices rise by $1 across the board for U.S.-based plans.
In a blog post on Monday, Spotify revealed that the price of an individual plan will now start at $10.99 per month, duo at $14.99, the family plan at $16.99, and the student plan at $5.99. Current subscribers will be notified 30 days before the price changes take effect.
The price hike comes just days after YouTube announced similar increases for its Premium subscription services for people throughout the world.
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Spotify says increase to drive innovation
Spotify is the world’s most popular audio streaming service, with over 200 million Premium subscribers. The company said the increase is necessary for it to continue “innovating” in an ever evolving market. It will also help the firm pay artists and songwriters more.
“So that we can keep innovating, we are changing our Premium prices across a number of markets around the world,” the blog post stated.
“These updates will help us continue to deliver value to fans and artists on our platform.”
Premium subscribers to Spotify get access to on-demand and ad-free music listening, offline music downloads, and quality music streaming. The increase is the first by the company in over a decade. It has reportedly charged $9.99 for its Premium subscription in the U.S. since 2011.
A total of 53 countries will be affected by the latest increase, including Brazil, Spain, France, Israel, and Indonesia.
In the UK, prices for the individual plan will rise to £10.99 from £9.99, duo will now cost £14.99 compared to £13.99 previously, and family is at £17.99 from £16.99. The price of a student plan remains unchanged at £5.99, according to tech website the Verge.
Streaming services hike prices
Spotify’s price increase is the latest in a series of hikes from streaming services. A few days ago, YouTube Music Premium raised its standard individual monthly subscription from $9.99 to $10.99. Apple Music, and Amazon Music have both raised prices in recent months.
Streaming companies are under pressure from investors to boost profitability after years of growing user numbers. YouTube Premium (separate from the music premium version) now cost an additional $2 per month, climbing to $13.99 from $11.99 for U.S.-based plans.
Those using an iOS app will pay an extra $5, bringing the total to $18.99. Annually, the cost of a subscription to YouTube Premium rose by $20 to $139.99. The family plan for both YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium is increasing to $22.99 each month, up from $17.99.
The company said the price increases will enable it “to continue delivering great service and features.”
“We believe this new price reflects the value of YouTube Premium which allows subscribers to enjoy ad-free YouTube with background and offline play and uninterrupted access to over 100M songs with the YouTube Music app,” a spokesperson told 9to5 Google.
YouTube Premium offers a number of benefits for video streaming on the platform. People can watch YouTube videos without ads, download videos to watch offline, and stream videos in higher quality.
The price increases are effective immediately for new subscribers. Existing subscribers will see the price increase on their next billing cycle.
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