Spotify will raise U.S. prices next year, report says

Spotify appears to be preparing for its third price increase in three years. The Financial Times reports that the music streaming service plans to increase prices for US customers in the first quarter of 2026.

It’s not yet clear what level of increase customers might face, but the news follows an estimate from JPMorgan that an increase of $1 per month could increase revenue by nearly half a billion dollars per year. Spotify has recently increased its prices in a number of other countries, including the UK and Australia.

A $1 price increase would be consistent with past subscription cost increases. In June 2024, the company announced that subscribers in the United States would pay $1 more per month for ad-free streaming, bringing the price to $11.99 per month. This follows an announcement made in July 2023, where the price was increased to $10.99 per month.

This would be only Spotify’s third price increase since its launch in the United States 14 years ago.

Spotify isn’t the only music streaming service to raise its prices in the recent past. Pandora, early last year, increased the cost of its Premium service from $9.99 per month to $10.99 (and increased the price of the family option by $3 per month). Amazon, in August 2023, increased the price of Amazon Music to $9.99 per month. And Apple Music, in October 2022, increased its monthly prices by $1, to $10.99.

These price increases come as labels seek higher royalty payments and services shift from acquiring users to increasing their profit levels. Spotify claims to have been profitable for over a year.

Spotify, at the same time, is in the middle of an executive shake-up. Founder Daniel Ek announced his intention to step down as CEO at the end of September. (He will remain with the company as executive chairman.) Gustav Söderström, who served as co-president and chief product and technology officer, and Alex Norström, co-president and chief commercial officer, have been named co-CEOs of the company.