Spotify is hiking its prices
Jul 24, 2023, 9:23 PM
Apple tried to kill Spotify. Now the streaming music service is worth nearly $30 billion.
(CNN) —Spotify is the latest streaming service to hike its prices.
Beginning Monday, new subscribers will pay $1 more per month for its ad-free premium plan, rising to $10.99 per month. Current customers are being given a “one-month grace period before the new price becomes effective,” Spotify said.
Spotify’s other tiers, like its family and student plans, are also getting a $1 per month bump. The monthly cost of Duo, a plan that lets two people split a premium plan, is rising by $2, to $14.99. The price increases are now in effect for subscribers in a number of countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
In a release, Sweden-based Spotify said the “market landscape has continued to evolve since we launched” in 2008, and that the price hikes “will help us continue to deliver value to fans and artists on our platform.” Subscribers will get an email on Monday alerting them to the new prices.
Spotify (SPOT) will also continuing offering a free plan, which includes ads and limited features.
Shares of the company popped more than 1% in premarket trading Monday. Spotify said in its most recent earnings report that the number of global users grew 15% year over year to 210 million, but reported an operating loss of €156 million ($173 million). It also cut 6% staff earlier this year.
Streaming services are no long chasing subscribers, but rather investors are pressuring them to make money off the services, even if it comes at the expense of losing subscribers. Peacock, Netflix, Paramount+, Disney+ and Max (owned by CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery) have all increased the prices of their services in recent months.
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