Spotify customers in the UK will have to pay more for a subscription from May.
The audio streaming service has started contacting Brits to warn them of the upcoming price hike.
Spotify said in an email to customers that a Premium Individual subscription would cost £11.99 per month from May, up from £10.99 previously — a 9 per cent increase.
Customers will have to pay an extra £12 a year due to the price increase.
Premium Family account holders, meanwhile, will have to fork out £19.99 compared with £17.99 per month previously.
Spotify is reportedly increasing the price of its Premium subscriptions to claw back the money it has splurged on audiobooks. In a shot across the bow to rival Amazon’s Audible service, Spotify started offering free audiobook listening time to paying customers last October.
Not happy 😟 @SpotifyUK pic.twitter.com/XeprfqzlYW
— Gab 🏳️🌈🌺✨ (@PIRITE_) April 9, 2024
Earlier this month, it also introduced video learning courses that cost between £11 and £240.
The Sweden-based company is reportedly considering a new basic subscription without audiobooks for the original price of the Premium Individual Tier (£10.99). However, the email sent to customers does not mention the subscription. A long-rumoured super-premium tier, with access to higher-quality audio, is also rumoured to be on the cards.
“We’re increasing the price of [subscriptions] so that we can continue to invest in and innovate our product offerings and features, and bring you the best experience,” Spotify said in the email.
Spotify previously raised subscription prices in the UK by £1 extra per month last summer. The company is trying to achieve profitability after a history of losses.
Last March, Spotify revealed that its all-time payouts to music-rights holders were approaching $40 billion (£31.6bn). It said it paid nearly 70 per cent of every dollar it generated from music back to the industry.
Spotify had 602 million users at the end of 2023, including 236 million paying customers.
