Spotify is raising subscription prices in the UK for the second time in 18 months. The company is also increasing the price of its Premium plans in Switzerland.
In the UK, the music streaming giant will be increasing its Premium individual monthly plan to £12.99 from £11.99.
The 8.3% increase marks the second time in 18 months that the company has raised UK prices by £1. The previous adjustment took effect in April 2024.
Spotify confirmed to MBW today (October 27) that Premium subscribers in both the UK and Switzerland received an email earlier this month explaining that the price of Spotify Premium is changing from their next billing date.
“As we continue innovating and enhancing the value we deliver, we periodically update our pricing to reflect local market conditions and economic factors, ensuring our service remains unparalleled,” said Spotify.
The price of Spotify’s Duo plan in the UK is also increasing, from £16.99 to £17.99 per month, while Family plans will rise from £19.99 to £21.99 per month.
Spotify’s discounted Student tier, priced at £5.99 monthly, appears unaffected by the current increase in the UK.
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, the price of an individual subscription increases from 13.95 CHF to 15.95 CHF (Swiss Francs), which translates to approximately $20.
Spotify’s Duo plan in the market will now be priced at 21.95 CHF per month (up from 18.95 CHF), while Family plans in the market will rise to 26.95 CHF per month (up from 22.95 CHF).
The Student plan also increases in Switzerland, from 7.95 CHF to 8.95 CHF.
The last price increase in Switzerland before October 2025 appears to have been in August 2023.
The world’s largest recorded music market, the US, last saw a price rise from Spotify in June 2024, when the cost of an individual Premium subscription went up by $1 per month to $11.99.
While UK and Swiss users face imminent increases, analysts expect a US hike to follow soon.
Morgan Stanley analysts described Spotify’s September price increases in Australia as “the beginning of a pricing cycle in ’26” and “creates a template” for pricing in other markets where Spotify bundles music and audiobooks, Billboard reported, citing an October 21 investor note.
Analysts at J.P. Morgan echoed that view in an October 14 note, forecasting a US increase “by year end or early 2026.” They estimate that recent hikes in Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein represent just 25% to 30% of subscription revenue but could add €380 million ($442 million) in incremental annual revenue, Billboard reported. A US increase, they reportedly said, could contribute another €425 million ($493 million).
Guggenheim analysts also expect a US price change by the end of 2025, noting that Spotify’s latest licensing renewals with record labels “included pending increases in per-subscriber minimum fees,” which would likely be passed on to consumers.
Looking ahead, Morgan Stanley forecasts 14% to 15% annual revenue growth through 2028, with analysts Benjamin Swinburne and Cameron Mansson-Perrone seeing “significant margin potential still ahead as the company follows product enhancements with price increases and diversifies into higher margin products.”
The analysts also expect an improvement for Spotify’s financials as it lifts prices and offers more products, such as a “superfan” tier.
In August, Spotify signaled price adjustments across multiple markets outside the US, including South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region. The UK, where Spotify has about 15.3 million subscribers, is now confirmed among those territories.
In its Q2 earnings release, Spotify said it had added 8 million net Premium subscribers during the quarter, for a total of 276 million, or 3% of the world’s population. The company reported strong growth in Europe, North America and Latin America.
“As we continue innovating and enhancing the value we deliver, we periodically update our pricing to reflect local market conditions and economic factors, ensuring our service remains unparalleled.”
Spotify
The company’s pricing strategy has become more aggressive in recent years. After maintaining stable subscription fees in previous years. Spotify began implementing more frequent price changes starting in 2023. The shift came as competitors including Apple Music and Amazon Music also raised prices during the same period.
In August, The Verge used archived internet pages to confirm that the listed price for a Spotify Premium individual subscription has already been raised by EUR €1 per month in Italy, Portugal and Spain. The listed price is now €11.99 in Italy and Spain, and €8.99 in Portugal.
Countries that saw a price hike earlier this year appear not to have been affected by the latest round of price adjustments, The Verge reported at the time.
Spotify founder Daniel Ek had previously indicated that the growth of the subscriber base is a key metric that he considers before deciding on further price hikes. Demand for Spotify has proven to be inelastic, with research firm Antenna reporting last year that Spotify subscribers are the least likely to cancel their subscriptions among customers of major video and audio streaming services in the US.
The UK price hike comes as Ek prepares to step back from day-to-day operations after nearly two decades as CEO. Effective January 1, 2026, Spotify will be helmed by Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström as Co-CEOs.
Norström told MBW in an exclusive interview earlier this month that, “We are taking market share. We’re not losing a lot of users when we raise prices. We are increasing the payouts to the music industry, to artists, to podcasters, to authors, and so on. So we’re really in a really good position.”
Spotify said on Monday: “We have a number of different Premium subscription plans that are tailored to users’ evolving needs, and we encourage users to check the Spotify website to see if they are eligible for other plans.
“Our free, ad-supported service is also available to keep users connected with their favorite music and podcasts, and access to all their saved tracks, playlists and podcasts.”
The company was also keen to highlight that “as a member of Spotify Premium, fans access the very best of Spotify”.
Examples of Premium-only features highlighted by Spotify include: DJ Mixing Tools, Messages, Lossless, Jam, AI Playlist, Offline Backup, Interactive DJ, Daylist, Audiobooks, ChatGPT integration, among other features.”
Music Business Worldwide
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.musicbusinessworldwide.com ’
