Spotify is getting ready to increase the cost of its subscriptions in a few European and US markets. For a while now, there have been rumors that the prices would go up, and now they are official; the company will temporarily raise prices in the US, Estonia, and Latvia. Thus far, only these regions have been mentioned.
So, the fact that price changes have also reached some parts of Europe may make people worry that other countries will also have to raise their prices in the near future.
Reports say that all paid plans will cost more in the markets that are affected, like, for example, in the US, the standard Premium plan will cost $12.99 a month instead of $11.99 a month. The Family plan is going up from $19.99 to $21.99, and the Duo plan is going up from $16.99 to $18.99. Also, the Student plan will be raised from $5.99 to $6.99.
There is a lot of interest in the choice of countries, especially Estonia and Latvia, which are not usually linked to early price tests or pilot changes, but, unfortunately, Spotify has not offered a thorough justification for the rise. The company stated that it is committed to providing the “best possible experience” and improving its support for artists.
Simultaneously, Spotify has been trialing new features, such as “Jam Sessions,” which enable Premium users to comment on music in sync with friends and real-time listening activity. Tools to import playlists from external music services have also been added to the platform.
The question that remains now is: are users willing to pay the new prices to continue using Spotify, or maybe is it time to change to a cheaper streaming service? We will know for sure in the future, so stay tuned for more news about one of the biggest streaming services in the world.
Filed in . Read more about Spotify and Streaming Music.