As expected, Spotify unveiled its first premium subscription rate hike in 12 years after mounting pressure from the music industry and musicians — and as competing services hiked their rates. A premium Spotify streaming subscription in the U.S. will now cost $10.99 per month, a $1 increase. Now the largest paid music service in the world, with about 210 million subscribers, Spotify is also raising rates in some 50 additional markets, including Canada, parts of Europe and Asia, South America and Australasia. Existing customers are getting one month’s notice before the new rates kick in.

In addition to the price hike for Premium Single, rates are also going up for Premium Duo ($14.99), Premium Family ($16.99) and Premium Student ($5.99), according to a company news release, which lists the impacted territories.

Spotify made the announcement “in wording that seems oddly apologetic and reflects CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek’s long resistance to raising prices,” reports Variety. Running down a list of improvements — “from discovery tools like our new AI DJ, to fan-favorite shared experiences like Blend and the introduction of podcasts and audiobook content” — the company concludes it is raising rates “so that we can keep innovating.”

Forbes documents a price increase trend that has swept the streaming sector, from “Amazon Music’s decision in January to increase its Unlimited Individual Plan from $9.99 to $10.99 per month” to YouTube Music raising the rate for its individual music plan to $10.99 (from $8.99) and Apple Music’s $1 individual user hike in October ($2 for families, now $10.99 and $16.99 per month, respectively).

The price adjustments aren’t limited to music. Netflix also shuffled its rate plan, scrapping its cheapest ad-free tier to encourage new customers to sign on for Netflix Standard with Ads, which costs $6.99 per month. NBCUniversal’s Peacock also escalated subscription fees, jumping from $4.99 to $5.99 per month for its ad-subsidized tier, while increasing the ad-free tier from $9.99 to $11.99. Hulu and Paramount+ also raised rates with the past year.

Forbes says that Spotify has more changes ahead, including plans to unveil “a high-quality, and more expensive, Spotify subscription tier.” This ad-free option, “known internally as ‘Supremium,’ with high-fidelity (Hi-Fi) audio,” is expected to launch later this year. “Both Amazon Music and Apple Music offer Hi-Fi with their standard plans.”

Related:
Best Music Streaming Services of 2023, CNET, 7/24/23
At Spotify, Podcast Cuts and Higher Music Royalties Deepen Losses, The Wall Street Journal, 7/25/23