As a slew of streaming and subscription-based services continue to raise prices, Spotify is reportedly implementing new pricing plans for its loyal users.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the music streaming giant will raise prices this month (between $1 to $2 per month) in five of its international markets including the U.K., Australia, and Pakistan, citing sources familiar with the matter.

In the U.S., meanwhile, customers won’t see an increase this month, but users based in the states can expect a price hike by the end of this year.

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The outlet reported that the higher prices of monthly subscriptions are set to offset the cost of Spotify’s audiobook feature, as Spotify has to pay publishers to host the books on its platform.

The sources also allege that Spotify will offer a new, cheaper monthly pricing tier, which will give users access to music and podcasts but not audiobooks for $11 a month — the current cost of a premium plan.

Spotify has historically offered two plans for users — a paid premium, which offers ad-free listening, and a free option, which subjects listeners to advertisements during their programming.

Spotify did not comment publicly on the report.

The streaming giant had a strong Q4 2023, with monthly active users increasing by 28 million quarterly and premium users increasing by 31 million quarterly to a total of 236 million globally.

Spotify bumped prices in the U.S. last July by $1 for premium users.

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“So that we can keep innovating, we are changing our Premium prices across a number of markets around the world,” the company wrote in a post at the time. “These updates will help us continue to deliver value to fans and artists on our platform.”

Spotify was up over 8.15% in a 24-hour period upon the news Wednesday afternoon.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/is-spotify-increasing-prices-streamer-hiking-premium-plans/472151