Streaming gets more expensive: YouTube Premium and Apple Music hike subscription prices

Could Spotify be next?

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Music Streaming

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The cost of streaming is on the rise, as both YouTube Premium and Apple Music increase their monthly subscription fees in the US.

YouTube Premium’s Family Plan will now cost $22.99 a month, marking an increase of 28 per cent ($5). Meanwhile, pricing for an Apple Music subscription has increased by $1, from $9.99 to $10.99 per month.

YouTube announced the price change in an email to subscribers of the family package; existing customers were given a 30-day notice period to adjust to the new price.

In the email, YouTube addressed the updated price in a statement which read (via Music Business Week): “We created YouTube Premium to provide an uninterrupted YouTube experience, so you can get closer to the videos, creators, and music artists that you love. To continue delivering great service and features, we will be increasing your Premium family plan price from $17.99/month to $22.99/month.”

An Apple Music Family Plan in the US will be increasing by $2, from $14.99 to $16.99, and an Individual Annual plan is rising by $10, to $109 per year, from $99.

Here in the UK, the Individual plan price is increasing to £10.99 per month and the Family plan is going up to £16.99, while in Europe, those prices are increasing to €10.99 and €16.99 respectively.

For YouTube, pricing in Canada is jumping from CA$17.99 to CA$22.99, while customers in the UK see a smaller jump from £17.99 to £19.99 per month, according to Forbes.

With all of these new price hikes, heads are now turning to Spotify which could allegedly be launching its long-promised HiFi service nearly two years after it was first announced. The rumoured “Platinum” plan may well cost $19.99 per month according to a Reddit user who claims they were asked if they would like to switch to the plan in a post-cancellation survey.

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