The time that considered the pricing menu of Spotify ‘stable’ is long gone. Spotify was able to maintain a reasonable price rate until the company decided to hike prices in July 2023. And by the end of this April, Spotify is once again raising prices. The last time Spotify went from $9.99 to $10.99, and this time the price will range from $1 to $2 a month in the top five markets, including the UK, Australia, and Pakistan. The other two nations are not revealed, but they are more likely Brazil and India.
According to Bloomberg, U.S. users will notice the raised price of Spotify later this year. Currently, Spotify’s premium subscription is available at $11/month, and $15/month for Duo users (for couples who use two accounts for one purchase). Moreover, the family plan for 6 members costs $17/month.
Audiobooks are the reason for Spotify’s price hike
The major reason to alter the prices is to cover the expenses incurred by the Audiobooks. Audiobooks were introduced last year on a trial basis. Currently, there are more than 250,000 audiobooks. Users must have a premium subscription to access audiobooks, and when a user exceeds 15 hours of free audiobooks, a 10-hour top-up is mandatory.
Spotify will introduce subscription tiers
The decision to increase prices is highly based on the ivory tower approach, which considers that all users use audiobooks. And to have a uniform rate for users who don’t listen to audiobooks will not be a fair deal. Therefore, subscription tiers are on the way.
The new subscription tier will hold the current rate at $11/month but without audiobooks. Audiobooks will only be accessible after paying the extra cost.
Recently, Spotify expanded its premium audiobook library to more regions. With this expansion, the number of audiobooks also increased to 250,000 from 200,000 at the end of 2023. This might have added an extra expense for the streaming giant. However, we can’t deny the fact that most of the company’s revenue goes to pay for the licensing fees. Taking these situations into contemplation, Spotify’s decision seems viable.
It is also important to note that it is not Spotify alone who raised prices. This judgment comes after the price revisions from Apple, Amazon, and YouTube Music Premium.
2024-04-04 15:09:07