Australians Brace for 15% Spotify Price Hikes

Spotify has announces a significant price increase for its Premium subscribers in Australia. The move comes as the streaming giant grapples with changing market dynamics globally—and flatlining subscriber growth in the United States.

Australian subscribers began receiving emails notifying them of the new pricing this month. For individual plans, the monthly fee will rise from A$13.99 to A$15.99 (USD $9.08 to $10.36), while family plans will jump from A$23.99 to A$27.99 (USD $15.60 to $18.21), marking a 14-16.7% increase depending on the plan. Spotify’s communication to customers reveals the price hike will take effect on subscribers’ next billing cycle in September.

Spotify’s email notification emphasized continued investment in product innovation as the reason behind the hike. “We’re increasing the price to ensure we can keep enhancing our product offerings and features, providing you with the best experience possible.” Also worth remembering—Spotify converted ALL current Premium accounts to its bundled offering that includes podcasts and ebooks, whether the subscriber actually listens to podcasts and ebooks content or not.

Online feedback about the price hike in Australia has been extremely critical, especially as more artists are abandoning the platform due to CEO Daniel Ek’s military investments. “I terminated my Spotify subscription last month and it was liberating!” writes one commenter on a news article about the price hike. “The recent price hike seems more likely to support weapons funding and low-quality AI content rather than benefiting artists.” Survey data reveals that 27% of Australians have canceled at least one streaming service this year due to price increases.

Spotify is not hiking prices in the United States, where DMN Pro data has revealed a large plateau of subscriber growth. The U.S. market registered a mere 3% year-over-year increase in paid subscriptions by mid-2024, a sharp contrast to double-digit growth in previous years.

Subscriber growth across digital service providers (DSPs) flatlined in 2024, with only Spotify and Apple Music posting modest gains. Spotify has decided the US market cannot bear another price increase without losing significant market share due to subscriber churn.