Music streaming service Spotify has emailed customers to tell them about a price hike for Premium plans which will affect Student, Duo, and Family plans in the UK and Europe, and Family plans in the US.
The biggest price hike comes to families. The Premium Family plan allows for six accounts under the same roof for £14.99/€14.99/$14.99 per month, making it good value compared to six individual Premium plans. It’s rising to £16.99/€17.99/$15.99 from 30 April.
That’s £24/€36/$12 extra per year and Spotify says the change comes “so we can continue to bring you new content and features that you can enjoy as a family and as individuals.”
That’s the only price change in the US, but in the UK and Europe Spotify’s Premium Student and Premium Duo plans are also getting a price rise, albeit just by £1/€1 per month. That makes them £5.99/€5.99 and £13.99/€12.99 after the change.
Existing subscribers will get an extra month at the current price, so will only start being charged the higher rate in June. Anyone currently on a free trial will be given the first month at the previous price before it goes up.
While it’s not a huge increase, it’s likely to prompt some subscribers to think about switching. Deezer, Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music all offer family plans at similar rates and – as far as we know – have no plans to increase this. Find out more about those alternatives in our best music streaming services guide.
As Spotify Premium is a rolling contract, you can cancel your plan at any time from your account settings.
The news follows Spotify announcing its HiFi tier, which will arrive later this year along with its Car Thing streaming device, which is currently on trial in the US.
Author: Chris Martin, Reviews Editor
Tech Advisor's Reviews Editor, Chris has been reviewing all kinds of tech for over 10 years and specialises in audio. He also covers a range of topics including home entertainment, phones, laptops, tablets and more.