Spotify subscribers will have to face some unfortunate news, as the famous music streaming service is set to raise its prices for many of its plans across parts of Europe, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) seeing the most changes. The move is set to be effective by Apr. 30.
The measure was speculated months before, as some people fear that this might lead people who can't afford the price increase to piracy. It also said that the platform is known to increase its prices every couple of years as it helps artists and songwriters get the money they deserve in exchange for their service.
Meantime, some alleged Spotify Chief Executive Officer Daniel Ek to be doing this for a different reason. It said that the Spotify CEO has long been dreaming of owning a Football Club with earnings from 'revolutionizing' the music industry. The allegations said that the Spotify CEO is now aware that he's on the losing end of the royalty-rate increase, so a price hike is the first step to making his dream possible as 35% of British musicians said they'd be willing to pay more for music streaming if it went directly to artists, as per Digital Music News.
Read also: 300,000 Spotify Users Hacked: Email Addresses, Logins, and Other Data Exposed | Tech Times
What the Spotify Price Hike Means
In the UK, subscribers of the music streaming platform have reportedly received emails informing them of a plethora of increases. For example, the price of a Spotify Student subscription is being raised from £4.99 to £5.99 per month, as the price of a Duo plan is also raised from £12.99 to £13.99. A Spotify Family plan is also raised from £14.99 to £16.99 per month.
Spotify subscribers affected by the price increases will have a one-month grace period before prices are automatically increased. This entails that existing subscribers would see an increase during the June billing cycle.
The music streaming service has also raised the cost of family plans in the U.S., however the service has yet to specify what the actual new prices will be. This information was revealed by Digital Music News.
The price hike is set to arrive following several updates the service has made to its desktop and mobile application software. In addition to redesigns, the company has also unveiled a new mobile home screen to further personalize its' users' experience. Among the changes is its own Spotify live audio conversations similar to Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, and Discord.
European Countries Affected by the Spotify Price Increase
Some countries in Europe, including Ireland, are also seeing price increases. Spotify's Student and Duo plans are increasing to €5.99 and €12.99 per month, respectively. Spotify Family is seeing a more drastic increase from €14.99 to €17.99 per month. A report from The Verge. said that some countries in Asia and South America will see similar price increases soon.
"We offer a variety of subscription plans tailored to our users' needs, and we occasionally update our prices to reflect local macroeconomic factors and meet market demands while offering an unparalleled service," a Spotify spokesperson said to The Verge.
It also noted how Spotify is set to post its latest earnings soon, where its subscribers can learn more about what to expect from the price increases here in the U.S.
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Written by Gabrielle N.
