Spotify CEO Daniel Ek Says The Platform Is ‘Ready’ To Increase Subscription Prices In The US

Spotify once again decided not to raise prices on its U.S. subscription plan, despite recent hikes at Apple Music and YouTube Premium.

via: Uproxx

Yesterday (April 25), in a conference call discussing Spotify’s first quarter earnings (as Billboard notes), Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said, “I think we are ready to raise prices, I think we have the ability to do that, but it really comes down to those negotiations [with major music industry stakeholders].”

Ek also noted, “We did raise prices in 46 different locations and markets last year, and even in those markets, we were still out performing. I feel really good about our ability to raise prices over time — that we have that ability — and we have lots of data now that backs that up. We may have been marginally helped by being a lower-cost provider, but it isn’t a primary part of our strategy and it’s not something that we’re thinking about. Instead, we’re working with our label partners to work […] to figure out what’s the best opportunity to do that. And that’s a more complex trade. When the timing’s right, we will raise it.”

This comes after Spotify had about $3.3 billion in total revenue during the first quarter of 2023. That’s a 14-percent increase over 2022, but as Billboard notes, it’s “slightly lower than the company expected as macroeconomic fears crimped Spotify’s advertising business by around $20 million.”

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