June 3 (UPI) — Music streaming service Spotify on Monday said it will raise prices in July in the company’s second round of price increases in a year.
“So that we can continue to invest in and innovate on our product features and bring users the best experience, we occasionally update our prices,” Spotify said in a news release announcing the new prices.
Spotify Premium members will soon pay a dollar extra for individual subscriptions at $11.99 a month with Duo and family plans also seeing increases.
“Over the next month, subscribers in the U.S. will receive an email explaining what this update means for their subscription,” it said.
While Spotify stock value is up almost 60% this year alone, Spotify shares increased more than 2% in premarket trading.
The hike is Spotify’s second price increase in about a year with prices soon to be up between 20-30% extra depending on the chosen plan.
The audio streamer announced in July last year it was increasing the prices of its premium services in the United States and in many of its overseas outlets like France, Britain and Australia, among others. That followed the company’s January announcement the same year that it was cutting back its workforce which resulted in 600 job terminations.
Spotify at the time said their Premium plan will increase to $10.99 for one user, which likewise was a dollar increase up from $9.99.
The cost of a Premium Duo plan, which allows for two accounts, was increased to $14.99 from $12.99 while a Premium Family plan, which provides up to six accounts, was priced at $16.99 up from $15.99. The price for its plan for students likewise bumped up to $5.99 from $4.99.
At the time Spotify said the “market landscape has continued to evolve since we launched,” claiming their 2023 price increase was so Spotify “can keep innovating” and “help us continue to deliver value to fans and artists on our platform,” words which echoed the new reasoning to up prices again.
In January this year, Spotify said that in March it will offer in-app sales through iPhones after Apple was forced to allow such sales under European Union rules.