Spotify will not match Apple, YouTube subscription hikes, for now

Spotify will not follow Apple Music and YouTube’s lead in raising subscription rates, CEO Daniel Ek said during a Q3 earnings call Thursday.

On Monday, Apple announced that it is raising the price for Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple One worldwide. The new basic Apple Music subscription in the US will go up $1 to $10.99 per month.

But Ek will not follow Apple’s lead.

Saying that Spotify has already raised some prices over the last year, Ek added that they would be reviewing pricing “with labels partners” in light of Apple’s increase.

Spotify is much more focused on growth than Apple Music. So while rate hikes will likely come at Spotify, it will not happen today.

“When our competitors are increasing their prices, that’s really good for us because, again, with our deep engagement that we have and the lowest churn of any competitor, we will likely fare better,” Ek told analysts.

MORE:

Spotify adds 8M paid subscribers as revenue tops $3B in Q3 2022

Apple Music ups subscription price to $10.99

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is also President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.