Last year, music streaming platform Spotify increased the price of its premium plans, along with other major streaming platform, such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.
For Spotify, it was the first time the company had increased prices since its inception 11 years ago. However, it's taken less than a year for the platform to revisit its prices again.
According to the latest price update, US-based subscribers will be charged another $1 a month for Spotify Premium, taking the price to $11.99.
Duo subscribers will be paying $2 more, from $14.99 to $16.99 a month, and the Family plan cost will jump from $16.99 to $19.99 a month.
While a dollar may not dramatically affect the majority of subscribers, the company's justification for price hike rings hollow.
The email sent to subscribers reads: "We're increasing the price of Premium Individual so that we can continue to invest in and innovate on our product offerings and features, and bring you the best experience."
Some customers are evidently dissatisfied with the update.
Shortly after the company announced the price increase, its stock price rose 5.6%.
In 2023, when Spotify first increased plan prices, the company also laid off around 1,500 employees. When it comes to paying artists, Spotify is not very generous - it pays between $0.003 to $0.005 per stream. There's more - if smaller artists' tracks do not reach a minimum of 1,000 listens every year, they don't earn anything.
The streaming platform currently has 239 million paid subscribers. While many have switched to competitors due to price hike, we have yet to see if the move will significantly affect the numbers.
