Apple is increasing the pricing for Apple TV+, Apple One, and Apple Music worldwide.
In the US, starting from Monday (October 24), an individual Apple Music subscription will go up by $1, from the current $9.99 price point to $10.99 per month.
Meanwhile, an Apple Music Family plan in the US will be increasing by $2, from the previous $14.99 fee, to $16.99. An Individual Annual plan in the US is rising by $10, to $109 per year (from $99).
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 (see below).
In a statement provided to MBW, Apple said that the change in its Apple Music pricing “is due to an increase in licensing costs” and that, “in turn, artists and songwriters will earn more for the streaming of their music”.
The statement added: “We also continue to add innovative features that make Apple Music the world’s best listening experience.”
Features added by Apple music over the past couple of years include the rollout of Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos to its service in May 2021 at no additional cost.
Apple Music and Mercedes-Benz recently announced that Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos will be available in Mercedes-Benz vehicles for the first time natively.
Apple Music revealed earlier this month that it now has 100 million songs on its platform.
Apple’s price hikes to its Individual and Family music plans in the United States mark the first time that the company has raised its subscription prices in the market. (Apple Music launched in June 2015, priced at $9.99 per month in the US.)
All eyes will now be on Apple Music rival Spotify ahead of its Q3 earnings results this week.
Spotify has raised prices – when it comes to multi-user bundles like its Family Plan – in multiple markets, including the UK and US, over the past 12 months.
SPOT also raised its individual Premium subscription fee in markets such as Brazil, Argentina and Sweden last year, as covered by MBW in an analysis in May.
Yet the $9.99/€9.99/£9.99-per month price point – for individual premium Spotify subscriptions in the service’s biggest markets – still remains the same in the US, the UK, and in Europe’s biggest markets like Germany.
“The change to Apple Music is due to an increase in licensing costs, and in turn, artists and songwriters will earn more for the streaming of their music.”
Apple
In a statement, Apple said: “The subscription prices for Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple One will increase beginning today.
“The change to Apple Music is due to an increase in licensing costs, and in turn, artists and songwriters will earn more for the streaming of their music.
“We also continue to add innovative features that make Apple Music the world’s best listening experience. We introduced Apple TV+ at a very low price because we started with just a few shows and movies.
“Three years later, Apple TV+ is home to an extensive selection of award-winning and broadly acclaimed series, feature films, documentaries, and kids and family entertainment from the world’s most creative storytellers.”
Apple isn’t the only tech giant to announce subscription price rises this week. Subscribers of YouTube Premium’s Family Plan will have to pay an additional $5 for their subscription after the video-streaming platform upped the monthly fee by 28% to $22.99.Music Business Worldwide