Spotify to Raise Subscription Price Again This Year | Report
More price hikes are coming for Spotify users: The music streaming giant will raise the cost of subscriptions in the U.S. later this year after increases in five smaller markets by the end of the month, Bloomberg reported.
Listeners in the UK, Australia, Pakistan and two unnamed markets will also see increases of $1 to $2 a month by the end of the month, the report said.
The move follows its first-ever price hike in July, when it boosted the monthly cost for its ad-free premium plan by 10% to $10.99.
And it comes after the Swedish company reported a 20% jump in revenue to $3.38 billion, and a sharply narrower loss for the last three months of 2023. During the quarter, it added 28 million new subscribers to reach 502 million worldwide. During the quarter, Spotify slashed 17% of its global workforce.
Wall Street welcome the report, sending Spotify shares up $9.82, or 3.4%, to $301.59 in midday trading Thursday. The stock has more than doubled since the start of the year.
Bloomberg said the price hikes will help cover the cost of audiobooks after the service added more than 200,000 titles available to US premium subscribers last year. CEO Daniel Ek said in February that audiobooks engagement was strong.
The service offers up to 15 hours of audiobook listening per month and collects more from users who go over the limit.
The report said the company also plans to introduce a new basic tier that does not include audiobooks for the current $10.99 price. Users of that plan would have to pay for any audiobooks.
The audiobook push came as Spotify rejiggered its efforts in original podcasting, ending deals like the $20 million pact with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and cutting staff in the division last summer.
In February, the company reupped its deal with Joe Rogan for a reported $250 million, but also revised his exclusivity on the service to allow him to appear on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and Youtube as part of an appeal to broaden podcast audiences.
A new superpremium plan that offers higher quality audio is also in the works.
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