Spotify increases premium subscription cost by £1 a month

Spotify has announced that almost all premium subscription prices are set to go up by £1 in the UK, and $1 in the US — marking the first increase since the platform first launched in 2008.

The price increases are set to reflect "increasing costs and pressures faced by the platform" due to the "external market."

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UK standard premium individual plans are set to go up from £9.99 to £10.99 per month, duo plans will increase from £13.99 to £14.99 and family plans, which cover 6 people, shall go up to £17.99 a month.

The only plan staying the same is the UK student plan, which remains frozen at £5.99. In the US nearly all plans - including the premium student subscription - shall increase by $1, with Spotify duo increasing from $13 to $15.

Users shall receive an email explaining how the changes affect their accounts and why, as well as being offered a one month grace period before the price increases come into effect, unless the user cancels their subscription within that time.

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The Spotify frequently asked questions page also explains that if users are currently on a one month trial offer, they shall be charged the updated prices on their next billing date (unless they cancel their subscription before this).

In a blog post, Spotify explained that:

“With 200+ million Premium subscribers, we’re also proud to be the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, giving Premium users access to on-demand and ad-free music listening, offline music downloads, and quality music streaming. The market landscape has continued to evolve since we launched.

"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 platform cited "innovative new platform additions" like the AI DJ service and shared ‘Spotify blend’ playlists, as examples of some of the services they have provided and wish to continue providing.

These prince increases hardly come as much of a surprise, with Spotify CEO stating via the Evening Standard that the company was discussing updated plans with record labels and that it was “ready to raise prices… in 2023”.

Tiffany Ibe is Mixmag’s Digital intern, follow her on Instagram.