I don’t understand subscribing to music. Maybe it’s just my age, but this isn’t the '90s where you hear a track you like and that one song is going to run you $20 at Tower Records. I like a song, I pay $1.29 and then it’s stored locally. Also cuts way down on data usage while driving. I struggle to get anywhere close to my 5GB data allowance.
After a dozen years of keeping subscription prices stable, Spotify has issued three price hikes in 2.5 years.
Spotify informed subscribers via email today that Premium monthly subscriptions would go from $12 to $13 per month as of users’ February billing date. Spotify is already advertising the higher prices to new subscribers.
Although not explicitly mentioned in Spotify’s correspondence, other plans are getting more expensive, too. Student monthly subscriptions are going from $6 to $7. Duo monthly plans, for two accounts in the same household, are going from $17 to $19, and Family plans, for up to six users, are moving from $20 to $22.
Spotify’s Basic plan, which is only available as a downgrade for some Premium subscribers and is $11/month, is unaffected.
For years, Spotify subscribers enjoyed stable prices, but today’s announcement marks Spotify’s third price hike since July 2023. Spotify last raised prices in July 2024. Premium individual subscriptions went from $11 to $12, Duo subscriptions went from $15 to $17, and Family subscriptions increased from $17 to $20.
You’re tying your access to music to a subscription. That feels wrong to me.
Why do your feelings about how others pay for things matter to anyone?
Why does it even matter to you?
You could argue it matters because spotify has impacted the music industry negatively as a whole. Why would I want people giving their money to a company like that to make the problem worse?
Regardless of whether I personally use the service or not, other people funding it contributes to the downfall of something I like just for a bit of convenience.
I wouldnt make the same argument for every other streaming service because they all have different levels of ethics they abide by but spotify… no good ethics I can see.
Streaming isn’t the problem. The lables screwing over the artists on their streaming cut is the problem. Stop supporting the lables.
Thats correct, streaming is not the problem. Streaming is just a technology. The companies are the problem.
Record companies dont walk in to spotify HQ and say “give me this much for this artist”. Spotify has a very specific payment model that fucks over small artists.
There are also many labels made by artists that are great and really support their artists so your point doesnt really work.
None of this is even touching on how spotify fills its curated playlists with slop so it doesnt have to pay as much royalties or how the only way it can make more money and appease shareholders is by constantly squeezing the consumer and charging more like this article. They have nothing innovating to offer to justify their price hikes.
I love streaming, I think it is incredibly convenient and effective for listening to music. I do not love companies that take an amazing technology and exploit it to destroy an industry that is already struggling in the name of profit.
Support your favourite artists directly or switch to other less scummy streaming services is my opinion. Spotify is destined to fail anyway or at least mutate into a “top 40” only platform with how many artists are leaving.
Why are you taking personal offense that I said I didn’t understand the behaviour of others? This is a petty hill to die on.
Look, people waste money on plenty of things, myself included. It just feels like being at the mercy of a company to listen to music is a poor choice.
Judgmental attitudes ar an accepted cancer of online discourse. And I try to point it out sometimes.
Are you not judging me without context?
Paradox of tolerance
Sometimes hypocrisy is necessary
OK. Listen to what you like, I’ll listen to what I like, and we can go about our days.
There you go. Good on you
I’m not an asshole, just an opinionated prick.