Spotify is expected to roll out a 10% price hike for its Premium plan, according to a new report.
The hike, reportedly to be announced next week, will see Spotify Premium’s current $9.99 monthly fee rise to $10.99 for U.S. subscribers, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the Wall Street Journal Friday. Other markets will see similar price increases in the coming months.
Though the price increase is expected to be announced next week, it’s unclear when the change will start affecting billing cycles. Spotify representatives did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Spotify was a holdout against trending price bumps across other media subscription services, remaining at $9.99 even when competitors upped their rates. Until Thursday, another service staving off a subscription surcharge shift was YouTube Music Premium. The service was holding steady at $9.99, then YouTube quietly bumped its monthly price to $10.99, leaving Spotify alone in its resistance to price changes. To note, YouTube also bumped its YouTube Premium subscription monthly fee from $12 to $14, a 17% increase.
As to why Spotify is doing this now, it’s been under pressure to boost profitability for some time, especially in the wake of high profile deals that many considered tactical misfires (the $20 million deal with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, for example).
Being the largest music streaming service gives Spotify a user base advantage, and it stands to reason that while having a lower monthly price than competitors could help with maintaining its subscriber lead, that price point may not be doing enough in terms of helping the company hit its monetary goals.
Other recent Spotify news includes the company’s deal with comedian Trevor Noah for a new original podcast. The weekly show is set to feature noteworthy, influential guests and offer up discussion on current events.
Spotify isn’t the only service nabbing high profile celebrity deals, either. Competitor Audible has a noteworthy partnership of its own: It’s teaming up with Hasbro to be the home for Peppa Pig’s podcast. More details on Peppa’s podcast debut will arrive later this year.
