Spotify plans to hike price of premium plan by $1 in US: Report

Music streaming giant Spotify is reportedly planning to increase its monthly subscription price by $1 in the US, as part of its effort to become consistently profitable. The price hike is expected to be announced next week for subscribers in the US, followed by similar increases in "dozens of markets globally in the coming months", reports Variety.

The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Since 2011, Spotify hasn't changed its $9.99-per-month ad-free Premium plan in the US. 

After the hike, users will need to pay $10.99 per month for the premium service.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has previously stated that the company is considering raising prices in the US in response to price rises by competitors such as Apple Music, according to the report.

"When our competitors are raising their prices, that is really good for us," he said on the company's third-quarter 2022 earnings call in October.

Moreover, Ek stated that raising membership prices in the US, the world's largest music market by far, "is one of the things we would like to do and it's something we will (discuss) with our label partners. I feel good about this upcoming year, and what it means about pricing for our service".

Apple Music hiked its subscription fee for individuals last fall to $10.99 per month, with the family plan increasing by two dollars to $16.99/month, among other changes.

Amazon Music Unlimited hiked its monthly rate to $10.99 (for non-Prime members).

This week, Google-owned YouTube has increased the price of a Premium individual plan by $2 in the US for new and current customers.

Users will now have to pay $13.99 per month instead of $11.99. 

The plan will cost $18.99 if users are subscribing from the iOS YouTube app.