Spotify Premium to become more expensive once again and be supplemented by a basic subscription for $10.99

The price of Spotify Premium increased from $9.99 to $10.99 per month last fall, and now another price increase is already on the horizon in several key markets, as Bloomberg reports. The current Premium subscription is to increase in price by $1 to $2 per month by the end of April in at least five markets, including Australia, the UK and Pakistan.

The price increase will be applied to other markets later this year, including the USA. To avoid losing subscribers, Spotify intends to change its subscription structure and introduce a new 'Basic' subscription that includes music and podcasts, but no audiobooks. This subscription will be offered at the current price of the Premium subscription, i.e., $10.99 per month. The Premium subscription includes 15 hours of audiobook streaming per month, which users of the Basic subscription have to pay for separately.

Spotify is also said to be working on a more expensive 'Supremium' subscription, which would give users access to music in hi-fi quality for a higher price; whether these plans will ultimately be implemented remains to be seen, as competitors such as Apple Music and Tidal now offer hi-fi quality at no extra charge. These price increases are intended to make Spotify profitable. Although the Swedish music streaming giant generated revenue to the equivalent of around $14.3 billion in 2023, it also incurred a loss of around $483 million.