Unsurprisingly, Spotify is once again raising its prices. After adjustments already made in 2023 and 2024, the music streaming platform has been implementing a new pricing structure since the beginning of June, affecting all its plans in France. This decision is part of a broader context of pricing restructuring among several players in the sector. This is particularly true for streaming services like Netflix recently.
Increases on all Spotify plans
If you're a Spotify subscriber, expect to pay more. All plans are affected. Increases ranging from 9% to more than 16%, depending on the plan. And with no visible addition of features for the moment. No improved audio quality, no major new options. Just... more expensive.
- Individual Plan: goes from €11.12 to €12.14 per month
- Student Plan: goes from €6.06 to €7.07
- Duo Plan: climbs from €15.17 to €17.20
- Family Plan: passes the €20 mark to reach €21.24
Why this price increase?
Spotify remains vague. The platform speaks of a need to "innovate in a changing market". Translation: costs are increasing, as is shareholder pressure. Spotify is banking on subscriber volume and is seeking to make its leadership position profitable, even if it means some gnashing of teeth. But in a context where the competition already offers lossless services (uncompressed audio quality), such as Tidal, Deezer, or Qobuz, some subscribers are getting annoyed.
To justify its strategy, Spotify also released some figures. In 2024, 352 billion streams were recorded on its platform by European users. And according to them, more than 17,000 European artists earned at least €10,000 thanks to the service last year. On paper, it looks good. But many point out that €10,000 a year, once distributed among a group or a team, is still very little. Even more so when we know that the majors take a big slice of the pie, leaving independent artists with crumbs.
Faced with these increases, some subscribers are starting to look elsewhere. Deezer is banking on a fairer model, where the artists you listen to actually receive your money. Qobuz, for its part, is focusing on audio quality, recommendations made by humans, and fairer compensation.
Source: Spotify
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