The never-ending circle of streaming pricing increases could make its way back around to Spotify users by the end of the month, according to a new report.
Bloomberg reports Spotify plans to increase tariffs by $1 for the Individual plan or $2 for the Duo. However, while US users might be spared the increase until later in 2024, it’ll hit Brits and Aussies before April is out, the sources say.
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Spotify Premium currently costs £10.99 a month for a single user, while you can get two Premium accounts for £14.99. It’s possible they will go up to £11.99 and £16.99 respectively, if the report comes to fruition.
The Family plan, which enables up to six accounts within a household, costs £17.99, but the report doesn’t mention that plan will be increased.
Spotify last put the prices up as recently as late July 2023 in the UK, when it raised individual and premium prices in by £1 in the UK.
The second increase within twelve months would be an unwelcome sight for loyal Spotify users, who’ve seen the company deprioritise music by spending fortunes on acquiring exclusive podcasts, while bundling in access to audiobooks.
According to the report, there will be new pricing options on the way too, They could include the long-tipped Supremium tier that would finally give Spotify users access to HiFi audio.
Why would Spotify choose to increase prices now? Simple. It still doesn’t make money and passing losses onto users could set it on the path to that elusive long-term profitability.
Covering the cost of the recent 15-hours per month of audiobooks, which many music-lovers didn’t ask for in the first place, is also cited as a reason for the purported price increases.
“The higher prices will help cover the cost of audiobooks, a popular service introduced late last year. Spotify offers customers up to 15 hours of audiobook listening a month as part of their paid plan. While the company pays publishers for books, it has so far only collected additional revenue from listeners who exceed the limit.”
Bloomberg
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