Spotify Price To Rise In Australia

The price of individual and group Spotify accounts is set to increase by the end of the month.

According to a new report published on Bloomberg (via Digital Music News and Consequence Of Sound), global markets will see increases of $1 and $2 per month for individual and family plans, respectively. Prices will rise in Australia, the US, the UK, and Pakistan—however, the price hike in the US is set to land later this year.

In addition to the price hike, Spotify reportedly plans to launch a new “basic tier” that costs $11 a month. While it’s supposed to be like other already existing Premium tiers, the new basic tier won’t include access to audiobooks, which were added to the streaming platform in November.

Spotify hasn’t indicated when the price jumps will come into effect.

The cost of Spotify Premium increased last July in Australia, with the individual Premium tier rising from $11.99 to $12.99 per month.

Spotify’s move to increase prices followed Apple Music’s price hike in October 2022.

Apple Music rose by $1 for individual accounts, going from $11.99 to $12.99. Apple Music Family subscribers saw a $2 increase, growing from a monthly cost of $17.99 to $19.99. The company’s television streaming service, Apple TV+, also rose by $2 to $9.99, up from $7.99.

In November, Spotify launched its new royalty payment threshold, meaning songs won’t earn revenue from streaming on the platform until they pass a minimum number of annual streams.

In addition to the new streaming number threshold, Spotify reportedly made two further changes to its royalty system: labels and distributors would be penalised for uploading music that generates “fraudulent streams”, while the minimum required length for tracks intended to be streamed as background noise (i.e. “songs” of white noise and binaural beats) will be extended to 30 seconds.

Last month, Joni Mitchell’s music returned to Spotify after a two-year boycott in solidarity with Neil Young.

In January 2022, Mitchell joined in solidarity with Young by pulling her music from the platform. Young accused the streaming service of allowing the spread of COVID misinformation by hosting Joe Rogan's podcast and issued an ultimatum: “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.”

Mitchell agreed with Young’s stance, writing a blog post at the time: “Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue.”