Spotify users will now pay £10.99 to listen to their favourite music and podcasts after the subscription service raised its prices for the first time in its 10-year history.
The streaming service increased its subscription rates by £1 per month, citing pressure from the record industry. The company also alleged the price hike would allow for continued growth in an ‘ever-expanding market’.
Spotify, which announced the changes on Monday in a blog post, said it would be notifying customers about the changes via email.
The hike in subscription prices, which is understood to have been planned for months, will impact users in various countries across the globe, including both in the UK and US.
The company has not yet revealed when the price hike will go into effect but said that users will be given a ‘one-month grace period’ before the change ‘becomes effective’ – unless they cancel during this time.
Spotify users will now pay £10.99 to listen to their favourite music and podcasts after the subscription service raised its prices for the first time in its 10-year history
Spotify’s UK premium plan will now cost £10.99 per month, a £1 rise from the previous monthly rate.
Its duo subscription and family plans – which include six users – also increased by £1 each, now costing users £14.99 and £17.99, respectively.
The only plan that appears unaffected by the hike is the student subscription which has remained at £5.99 per month.
The rates in the US reflected a similar increase with the family plan now costing $17 per month instead of $16. The duo plan shot from $13 to $15 and the student subscription rate remained unchanged.
CEO Daniel EK had previously warned that Spotify was ‘ready to raise prices’ and ‘would like to do that in 2023’, The Evening Standard reported.
Spotify previously increased the rates of its multi-user bundle plans in 2021, but this is the first time the firm has hiked the cost of an individual subscription.
Those who do not want to pay the new price can still enjoy Spotify’s services without a monthly subscription, however the free service is subject to adverts and has limited playback functionality.
‘Since launching in 2008, Spotify has innovated and invested to build the best audio experience for you and your favourite artists and creators,’ the company stated in its announcement on Monday.
CEO Daniel EK had previously warned that Spotify was ‘ready to raise prices’ and ‘would like to do that in 2023’. Mr EK is pictured in 2016
Spotify now has more 200 million premium subscribers and is the ‘world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service’.
The company said it has continually provided fans and creators with ‘new opportunities’ to connect with the platform through tools like its new AI DJ and fan-favourite shared experiences like Blend.
‘The market landscape has continued to evolve since we launched,’ the statement added. ‘So that we can keep innovating, we are changing our Premium prices across a number of markets around the world. These updates will help us continue to deliver value to fans and artists on our platform.’
The new UK subscription prices now rival rates of Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited. YouTube Music is now the only UK service that remains at £9.99 monthly though it is suspected the company may hike its prices after it rose rates in the US to $10.99 per month.
MailOnline has approached Spotify for comment.
