Spotify Isn’t Priced At $10 Everywhere, And That’s Just Fine [Glenn Peoples]

When the fairness of payments to artists and labels is debated, it's important to factor in that monthly subscription prices for Spotify and other music streaming services varies from territory to territory; and that's just fine, writes Glenn Peoples.

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Spotify cards at a 7–11 market in Mexico City, mid-July 2018.

Each month costs 100 pesos, or about $5 U.S.

By journalist and analyst Glenn Peoples from Medium

While in Mexico City recently I ran across Spotify pre-paid cards in a 7–11 market. The cards provide Spotify premium access for varying periods at 100 pesos per month, or about $5 US—half of the standard $9.99 rate in the United States. And it got me thinking about market potential created by localized pricing.

My article on localized pricing can be seen at Music Business Worldwide.

Spotify can only charge what the market will bear. Same goes for Apple Music. Because of this, the streaming services will set rates according to consumers’ income in a particular country. In Mexico both Apple Music and Spotify charge $99 pesos, or about US $5, for the standard subscription. They’re about the same in Indonesia at 49,000 ($3.45) for Apple Music versus 49,900 ($3.39) for Spotify. Both companies charge 16.99 reais, or $4.50, per month in Brazil.

So these countries have relatively low prices, but they also have good revenue potential because of their populations (each larger than any European country): 267 million in Indonesia, 211 million in Brazil, and 131 million in Mexico.