Technology company Spotify SA is planning to raise prices for its popular audio service for the second time this year in several key markets, an important step toward achieving long-term profitability.
Written by UNN with reference to Bloomberg.
Spotify plans to raise prices by $1-2 per month in five market countries including: UK, Australia and Pakistan, by the end of April. Later this year, it is also going to make a similar move in the US.
The price increase will help offset the cost of audiobooks, a new service that was introduced late last year.
Spotify includes in its paid plan the ability to listen to up to 15 hours of audiobooks per month. Although the company pays publishers for books, it still receives additional revenue from users who exceed this limit. Spotify also plans to release a new basic plan that will include music and podcasts, but not audiobooks. This plan will be available for the current monthly price of $11 for the individual premium plan. Users who wish to have access to audiobooks will have to pay extra.
Recall
In 2023, Spotify paid out over $9 billion in royalties, almost three times more than in 2017, with more than half of that going to independent artists and non-English-language catalogs.