Spotify Technology SA (SPOT) announced Thursday it's raising prices again, and if you're a Premium subscriber, you've seen this movie before. Your monthly bill is going up to $12.99, a dollar more than the $11.99 you're probably paying now. The increase hits U.S. customers in February, along with users in Estonia and Latvia.
Three Price Hikes in Under Two Years
Here's the trajectory: Spotify Premium cost $10.99 in July 2023. Then it jumped to $11.99 in June 2024. Now it's heading to $12.99. That's three increases in less than two years, which is aggressive even by subscription service standards.
Spotify isn't alone in raising prices across different markets. The company has been adjusting subscription fees globally over the past year, citing inflation and rising operational costs. But the U.S. moves are particularly notable given how quickly they're happening.
The math here is straightforward and lucrative. JPMorgan analysts estimate that even a single dollar monthly increase could deliver close to $500 million in additional annual revenue for the streaming platform.
Users Keep Showing Up Anyway
The interesting thing? People aren't leaving. Spotify's third-quarter earnings in November showed the price hikes haven't killed growth. The company earned $3.83 per share, crushing the consensus estimate of $1.87. Revenue climbed 7% to $4.99 billion, beating expectations of $4.92 billion.
Monthly active users increased by 17 million to reach 713 million, ahead of Spotify's own projections. Premium subscribers grew 12% year-over-year to 281 million, right in line with what analysts expected.
Looking forward, Spotify guided fourth-quarter revenue to $5.26 billion, above consensus forecasts. The company expects Premium subscribers to hit 289 million and total monthly active users to reach 745 million.