The week began with Spotify making news on multiple fronts, such as with the announcement that, starting today in select markets, a partnership with Facebook means that Spotify users will now be able to discover and enjoy song playback directly from Spotify via a new player insider the Facebook app on both iOS and Android. Beyond allowing Spotify shares to the Facebook News Feed, according to the music streamer, fans will also now have the ability to play songs via the new Facebook miniplayer through select verified artists’ posts, or from user-uploaded videos on Facebook that contain licensed music.
Meanwhile, Spotify is also preparing to challenge Apple head-on when it comes to podcasts, following the iPhone maker’s announcement at last week’s “Spring Loaded” event at which Apple unveiled products like a new iPad Pro, as well as services such as Apple Podcast Subscriptions. Having said all that, though, we also have another update that is, unfortunately, bad news for some of you — a new Spotify price increase.
The Verge reports that some Spotify users have started getting emails letting them know that Spotify Family subscriptions in the US will see an increase soon (although individual Spotify Premium subscriptions don’t seem to be affected, for now). Likewise, Spotify Student, Duo, and Family plans across parts of Europe and the UK are seeing a price increase, as well.
That's one heck of a price increase @Spotify pic.twitter.com/TNKCxMKXWk
— Paul Campbell (@StarshapedPaul) April 26, 2021
In the US, Spotify family subscriptions will see a $1 increase, going from $14.99 to $15.99 per month. Spotify Student plans in the UK as well as Duo subscriptions are both seeing the same rate of increase (going from £4.99 to £5.99 per month, and £12.99 to £13.99 a month, respectively), while Family plans are increasing from £14.99 to £16.99 a month.
In Ireland as well as in some other European countries, Student and Duo plans will increase their monthly price by one euro, while family plans are getting hit with a bit larger of an increase €14.99 to €17.99 per month (likewise, some countries elsewhere in South America, as well as Asia, will see increases along these same lines). Existing subscribers won’t be hit with these increases right away, though. Per The Verge, all existing Spotify users in the US, UK, and Europe will have a one-month grace period before the increase kicks in, meaning existing subscribers are going to see all this show up starting in June.
Back in February, Spotify released its latest quarterly earnings report which showed that the Sweden-based music streaming giant now has 155 million subscribers. That was a 24% gain over the same period in the prior year. Spotify also has more than 345 million total active monthly users, thanks to the service’s free, ad-supported tier. The company’s losses, however, continue to pile up, with Spotify reporting a loss of €125 million in the most recent quarter.
