Spotify Confirmed They’re Raising Their Prices And When Exactly It’s Happening Following Months Of Rumors

Last month, it was reported that Spotify would be raising its prices soon. It turns out the reports were true, as today (July 24), Spotify announced that prices will indeed be going up.

A blog post from Spotify shared today explains:

“Since launching in 2008, Spotify has innovated and invested to build the best audio experience for you and your favorite artists and creators. We have continually revealed new opportunities for fans and creators to connect through the power of our platform, from discovery tools like our new AI DJ, to fan-favorite shared experiences like Blend and the introduction of podcasts and audiobook content.

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.”

It then outlines the new prices for its various plans in the US: $10.99 for Premium Individual, $14.99 for Premium Duo, $16.99 for Premium Family, and $5.99 for Premium Student. The post also links to an FAQ page with more information, which notes in regards to when the new pricing will go into effect, “Existing Spotify Premium plan subscribers will be notified via email and given a one-month grace period before the new price becomes effective, unless they cancel before the grace period ends.”

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the new prices for all plans are now $1 greater than before, except for Premium Duo, which jumped by $2. The increased prices put Spotify on par with Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music, all of which are also currently $10.99 per month.

Want To Pay More For Spotify? A New, More Expensive Premium Subscription Might Be On The Way

A couple months ago, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek spoke about the streaming service’s future, saying in part, “I think we are ready to raise prices, I think we have the ability to do that, but it really comes down to those negotiations [with major music industry stakeholders].”

Now, in a follow-up to that news, it appears Spotify could be readying a more expensive tier of streaming service. As Bloomberg reports, Spotify is readying a new, pricier subscription option dubbed “Supremium” internally, according to “people familiar with the strategy.” It’s set to be the most expensive plan Spotify offers and will reportedly include high-fidelity audio. The new tier is expected to launch this year in non-US markets before becoming available to American users.

In response to the new report, Spotify spokesperson Laura Pezzini told The Verge, “At Spotify, we are constantly iterating and ideating to improve our product offering and offer value to users. But we don’t comment on speculation around possible new features and do not have anything new to share at this time.”

Back in 2021, Spotify announced (but has yet to deliver) Spotify HiFi, so perhaps it’s finally just about ready for consumers. Earlier this year, Spotify co-president Gustav Söderström said to The Verge of Spotify HiFi, “We announced it, but then the industry changed for a bunch of reasons. We are going to do it, but we’re going to do it in a way where it makes sense for us and for our listeners. The industry changed and we had to adapt.”

One Of The World’s Biggest Artists Said No To Spotify And Apple Music (But Is All In On Amazon) And Explained Why

Garth Brooks is one of the most successful musicians of all time. He has the most diamond-certified albums ever with nine (The Beatles are in second with six). His Garth Brooks World Tour that concluded in 2017 sold 6.3 million tickets, the most ever for a North American tour. He’s also the best-selling solo artist in history when it comes to RIAA certifications. If you want to stream his music, though, you’re out of luck if you use Spotify, Apple Music, or any other platform besides Amazon Music.

In 2016, he signed an exclusive deal with Amazon to bring his music to streaming. Now, he has elaborated on what he saw in Amazon that he didn’t in other services.

As Digital Music News reports, at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville yesterday (March 13), Brooks said that it has to do with Amazon’s ability to sell physical releases of albums and how that benefits songwriters like himself:

“The fact is that Amazon is a retailer as well. So you can sign your streaming deal, but part of that streaming deal is to move those physical units so the songwriters get paid. And people, we can talk all day that ‘Garth went on to raise his kids, what a great…’ — Garth did that for himself. I stick up for the songwriters because I’m freakin’ one of them! Everything I do for the songwriters, I do for myself.

I’m the most selfish guy you’ve ever met, OK? But if we don’t take care of these songwriters, what do you guys have to play? It’s just tough, so that’s why I love partnering with [Amazon]. So the physical comes in, and nobody’s doing physical anymore. So these songwriters are still doing well.

And I hope that songwriters want to get a Garth Brooks cut. One, because I hope that they think that it would be cool. But two, right behind it closely, I hope it’s because they know that if you’re a Garth Brooks songwriter, you’re going to get paid.”

Given Brooks’ popularity, other platforms have tried to lure him. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek once even had a meeting with Brooks to try to get him on board. In 2017, Brooks said of Spotify and Apple Music:

“Spotify came in, Daniel Ek came down to sit with me, sweet man, I love Daniel, great guy. I think he gets a lot of crap. His parents were both street musicians — he’s a good guy who understands music, and I think he wants to help and believes 100 percent he’s helping.

Apple’s a little different story. They came in with their own set of rules, and if you’re already established, you have to change to get to them. I’m never going to change to fit their rules. Nice guys, we have respect for each other, we’re just never going to work together. So we were kind of dead in the water. Then out of the blue, thank God, Amazon shows up and wants to get into the streaming business. The views they shared seemed to correlate with the views we shared.”