Spotify Raises Prices Again in France

A second round of Spotify price increases have come to France, the world’s sixth-largest recorded music market. Starting Monday (June 2), Spotify individual subscriptions rose 9.2% to 12.14 euros ($13.81) from 11.12 euros ($12.65), a company spokesperson confirmed to Billboard. Additionally, family plans rose to 21.24 euros ($24.15), two-person “duo” plans increased to 17.20 euros ($19.56) and student plans increased to 7.07 euros ($8.04).  
 
With those increases, France’s prices are now comparable to Belgium, where an individual premium plan was raised to 11.99 euros ($13.63) in April. In nearby Netherlands and Luxembourg, an individual premium account costs 12.99 euros ($14.77). The U.K., where Spotify last raised prices in 2024, an individual premium plan costs 11.99 GBP ($16.21). U.S. and Australian prices were also raised a second time in 2024.
 
The individual premium plan remains less expensive elsewhere in Western Europe: 10.99 euros ($12.50) in Germany, Spain and Italy, and 7.99 euros ($9.09) in Portugal. Prices in parts of Northern Europe are comparable to France. An individual premium plan costs 119 SEK ($12.37) in Sweden and 129 NOK ($12.70) in Norway. An outlier is Denmark, where the same plan goes for 109 DKK ($16.62). 
 
Spotify raised prices in France in May 2024 after the country passed a streaming tax that requires platforms that earn more than 20 million euros ($22 million) in annual revenue to pay an additional 1.2% charge. Upon passage of the bill in December 2023, Spotify pulled its support for two local music festivals.  
 
Higher prices, along with growth in the number of subscribers, pushed Spotify’s revenue up 16% in the first quarter. In Spotify’s early high-growth years, prices were unchanged as the company added value through new features and audio formats such as podcasts and audiobooks. In the last two years, growth has slowed, and Spotify has raised prices without consumer backlash. “Price increases are now part of our toolbox,” Spotify’s co-president/chief business officer Alex Norström explained during the company’s April 29 earnings call, “and we take steps to balance the value to price ratio over time — adding value, and then we adjust the price when it makes sense for the market.” 
 
Record label executives have also voiced their belief that platforms such as Spotify will continue to raise prices in the coming years. “One key shift in the industry is that it’s moving from just subscriber growth to growth driven by both subscribers and price increases,” and price increases are “more regular” than in the past, Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl said during the company’s May 8 earnings call.