It seems to start earlier every year, doesn’t it? No, not Christmas-music season (although yes, that too…) – we’re talking about rumours of Spotify’s next set of price rises.
According to the Financial Times, Q1 2026 has been earmarked for the biggest subscription-music service’s next hike in the biggest recorded-music market – the US.
It’s not a huge surprise, as Spotify has raised its subscription prices in a number of other countries in recent months, while the last increase in the US came in July 2024.
The FT noted analysts’ eagerness for another one, citing JPMorgan’s claim that a $1-a-month rise in the US could generate $500m more annual revenues for Spotify.
(Running some extra maths on that using stats from DSPs body DiMA, that boost would ultimately boil down to around $46.2m more money for artists and $41.2m for songwriters.)
Rightsholders are certainly keen on the idea of all streaming services raising their prices more regularly than they have over the last 15 years, and have praised the increases by various DSPs as they have been announced this year.
Price rises are particularly welcome in the US. Labels body the RIAA published mid-year figures this year revealing growth of just 0.9% for recorded-music revenues there.
Wholesale paid subscriptions revenues – the industry’s share – grew by 6.3% year-on-year, which was actually a higher rate of growth than in the first half of 2024, when it was 5.1%.
Even so, the biggest DSP raising its US prices, and any knock-on effect if rivals take the opportunity to follow suit, will be met with cheers from rightsholders eager not to bump up against a ceiling for paid streaming’s growth just yet.
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