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Spotify users may be hit with price hikes early next year, the Financial Times reports, citing three people familiar with the matter.
The streaming platform last raised the price of its Premium subscription in June 2024, going from $10.99 a month to $11.99. Since then, it has added a number of features, including AI playlist prompts, messaging capabilities, and lossless audio.
Rumors about adding lossless audio had been circulating for years, with some even expecting a special paid tier for it. But when the feature finally arrived in September, it was included at no extra cost for Premium subscribers. Soon after, however, Spotify raised subscription prices in several countries, including the UK, Australia, and Switzerland.
A similar hike maybe coming to the US in the first half of 2026. The reason for it, though, may not be limited to new features. According to the FT, record labels have been pressuring music streaming platforms, including Apple and Spotify, to raise their fees, arguing that their prices haven't adjusted to inflation and remained lower than those of video services like Netflix. Ad-free streaming on Netflix starts at $17.99 per month, while the same on Spotify starts at $11.99.
The music streamer is also chasing sustained profitability, according to FT, and raising prices by just a dollar a month in the US could shoot up its annual revenue by $500 million. Spotify is also planning to add music videos for Premium subscribers in the country, and that could add to the justification of a potential price hike.
For now, users are looking forward to their annual Spotify Wrapped. Rival YouTube Music just released its 2025 Recap this week, and Spotify appears ready to unveil its version next week.