Is a Spotify price hike coming?
Some of you may be aware that this February 1st, Spotify increased the price of its family plan subscription from $14.99 to $15.99 per month. Spotify has not been alone in this decision; other platforms like Netflix and Disney+ have also taken part in this apparent uphill trend. Now, many fear that Spotify is set to soon break the long-held tradition of charging just $9.99/month on its individual account as well. Rumors are flying around, but it seems we might not have to worry about it just yet.
Spotify's music and podcast database has been growing exponentially, along with the musical industry, and they recently announced their expansion into 80+ new markets. Alternative streaming services currently provide greater competition than years ago, and there is annual national inflation as well. Taking all that into account, we've got to hand it to Spotify for its consistency and affordability over the years—and at least for now, that doesn't look like it's about to change. The US has certainly held out the longest in terms of price stability. As of October last year, Spotify family plan subscription prices have increased in a number of countries worldwide.
On Tuesday, Spotify had a meeting with a group of MP's to discuss the streaming playing field, where CEO Daniel Ek only argued against any price increase for Premium users. What Spotify expressed there was the fear that a price inflation would only encourage piracy, especially in today's financially trying times. Instead, Spotify spoke of other revenue-increasing strategies as preferable ways to remain profitable. For example, Spotify will be making a new HiFi feature available for Premium accounts in the US this year, and it has said that it is considering adding a podcast-only subscription for $3.99/month. With licensing fees costing Spotify two-thirds of its entire revenue, it needs measures like these to afford to continue expanding alongside the music industry.
“There are definitely [parts] of the US where it’s starting to become mature, but large portions of the US are just now discovering streaming,” Ek said. “That’s why we’re playing it very carefully in the US.”
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