For the first time since its launch in India in February 2019, Spotify has raised the prices of its premium plans. The individual plan now costs Rs139 per month, up front Rs119; the family plan—for up to six accounts—has been increased to Rs229 per month, from Rs170; the duo plan to Rs179 per month, from Rs149; and the student plan to Rs69, from Rs59. “As we continue to grow our platform, we are updating our Premium prices for new subscribers in India,” a spokesperson for the platform said.
The news is likely to please music industry executives who have for years been calling for DSPs to shift to subscription-only models, and given that Spotify is widely regarded to be the current market leader in India, the hike will hopefully help provide a fillip to labels in India, which are currently dealing with a fall in streaming volume and a consequent slowdown in revenue growth.
The move, which may be considered risky in the price-sensitive Indian market where Spotify scaled back on a few of the restrictions to its free tier that were introduced in October 2023, might encourage competitors to also reconfigure their plans. At the time of publication, neither JioSaavn nor YouTube Music, which tag their Pro and Premium offerings at Rs99 and Rs119 per month respectively, had altered their pricing models.
This week, Spotify upped its prices in a number of markets. Within South Asia, it has increased them in Bangladesh—where an individual premium account has been raised to BDT219—and in Nepal and Bhutan as well. However, the rates have been changed in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
