Spotify Hikes Premium Prices Globally, U.S. Remains Unaffected

Spotify Hikes Premium Prices Globally, U.S. Remains Unaffected
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Spotify raises Premium prices in global regions, citing market shifts; U.S. subscribers remain unaffected amid steady pricing strategy.

Spotify is rolling out price increases for its Premium subscription plans across several international regions, just days after reporting earnings that fell short of market expectations. In an official announcement on Monday, the music streaming giant said that customers in Europe, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific will receive email notifications about the changes “over the next month.”

While Spotify hasn’t named specific countries, example emails shared by the company show a €1 monthly hike — from €10.99 to €11.99 — in an unnamed country. A quick check of updated pricing pages reveals that new customers in countries like Spain, Italy, and Portugal are already seeing the higher rates. Meanwhile, nations such as France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, which previously experienced price hikes, appear unaffected this time around.

The timing follows Spotify’s July 29th earnings report, where the company revealed strong growth in paid subscribers but failed to meet profit forecasts. As a result, its stock plummeted by 11.5%, erasing $16 billion in market value in a single day.

When asked during the earnings call why Spotify hasn’t raised prices more frequently, CEO Daniel Ek emphasised customer retention over short-term revenue. However, The Financial Times reported back in April that the company had already planned these international price hikes for summer 2024.

So far, U.S. customers are spared. Spotify maintained its U.S. pricing for 12 years before introducing its first increases in 2023, which have continued into 2024.

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