Key Takeaways
- Spotify increases US Premium plan prices: Individual +$1, Duo +$2, Family +$3, Student remains $6.
- Spotify investing in more features and content, with recent additions like audiobooks and focus on podcast profitability.
- Despite recent investments, Spotify adjusts prices to boost revenues and potentially make Hi-Fi tier a reality.
Spotify announced today that it will be “adjusting” the prices for all its Premium plans in the United States. The streaming platform, based in Sweden, had just raised its prices last summer for the first time since launching in the US back in 2011. “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.
Spotify will now be increasing the monthly subscription cost of its Individual plan by $1, its Duo plan by $2, and its Family plan by $3. The only premium plan in the US not receiving a price hike is its student plan, which will remain at $6 per month.
It’s a time of change at Spotify
The company has spent the last few years reinventing itself
These price hikes come as Spotify ramps up its investments in the streaming platform, focused on bringing more features and content to its almost 250 million premium subscribers and over 600 million total users. Most recently, Spotify added support for audiobooks in 2022 and has continued growing that library since. Just last week, Spotify ended all support for it’s Car Thing dashboard accessory, which the company launched in 2021 before unceremoniously discontinuing it a year later. Many users, myself included, have also been hoping that Spotify would add a High Fidelity tier to their plans to compete with the likes of Tidal. The chances of Hi-Fi on Spotify had been looking increasingly grim recently, but perhaps the company’s now boosted revenues can make such investments a reality.
Spotify HiFi Platinum plan could be on its way soon
The upgraded plan will offer lossless audio for those who want it.
As recently as last year, Spotify had been investing heavily in podcasts, inking exclusive deals worth tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars with the likes of Joe Rogan and Prince Harry. While exclusive deals may not be seen as often in the future, given their high cost, Podcasts still play a key role in Spotify’s drive for increased profitability. Of the top 25 podcasts on Spotify in the US, nine are Spotify originals. The company has recently reported a substantial gain in gross margins, aided by increased profitability in both podcasting and music. In their last earnings report, Spotify shared that “Podcast advertising revenue grew faster than music, driven by significant growth in impressions sold across Original and Licensed podcasts.”
So now, for the second time in less than 12 months, Spotify is altering the deal. Let us pray they don’t alter it any further.
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