Spotify raises Premium subscription prices again globally - without exact boundaries or clarification

Spotify has announced new price increases for Premium subscriptions in a number of regions including Europe, South Asia, Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Users will be notified of the new rates over the next month. According to the company itself, the price of an individual plan will increase by an average of €1 per month.

Here's What We Know

Spotify explains the move by the need to "invest in the development of new features è content", as well as to "maintain a sustainable business". As a reminder, the company has previously raised prices in the US in 2023 and is now gradually extending the strategy to other markets.

While Spotify hasn't officially released a list of countries, screenshots and archived data show that the increase has already affected at least Spain, Italy and Portugal. But France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, where prices have already risen before, have so far remained without new changes.

The paradox is that the price hike came just days after Spotify's quarterly report was published: subscriber numbers are growing, but the financial forecast was worse than expected, and the stock fell 11.5%, slicing $16bn off its market capitalisation.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek explained that the company's preference is to retain subscribers for the long term rather than capitalise on short-term gains. However, according to the Financial Times, plans to raise prices were laid back in the spring - before the financial setbacks.

Amid increasing competition from Apple Music, YouTube Music and Amazon, Spotify is struggling to maintain profitability while continuing to invest heavily in podcasts, audiobooks and new formats.

Free access to Spotify will not change - all changes are for paid plans only.

Source: Spotify