Spotify continues to alter its subscription prices in multiple markets. In Canada the latest changes are what you might expect, with subscribers facing price increases of one to three dollars per month in July.
However, in India the prices are going down, with changes that were made there last year basically being rolled back. Possibly a sign that in markets like India, messing around with subscription products and pricing comes with greater risk in terms of losing subscribers.
All of this emerged last week as Spotify ramped up its 20th anniversary celebrations, in recognition of the fact the Spotify company was set up two decades ago. Those celebrations include a ‘lifetime on Spotify’ version of the Spotify Wrapped gimmick and a new glitter ball version of the company’s logo that has been more or less universally panned by everyone.
Back in its big bold nineteenth year, Spotify launched new Lite and Platinum tiers in five markets including India, presumably in a bid to placate a music industry that is keen for the streaming service to squeeze more income out of each subscriber each month. Especially in markets where subscription prices have always been significantly lower than in Western Europe and North America.
The Lite tier offers ad-free listening, but no offline listening and audio quality capped at 160kps. In India Lite was launched with a 139 rupee price point, about £1.07, which had previously been the price for a standard premium subscription.
Premium Standard, with offline listening and 320kps audio quality, then increased to 199 rupee, or £1.54. Platinum, with even higher audio quality and various extra playlisting tools, is 299 rupee, or £2.31.
But Lite is now being axed in India and the main premium subscription price will return to 139 rupee, which is a 30% saving for people on that subscription tier. As always, Spotify accompanies these changes with generic statements along the lines of “we occasionally adapt the plans we offer, based on market opportunity and to provide choice to and value to users”.
As subscriber numbers have surged in markets like India, the music industry - which has a revenue share relationship with the streaming companies - has long been keen for Spotify to find ways to push more free tier users to paid-for packages, and to then get more out of each premium subscription.
However, there is always a risk that price rises will prompt users to downgrade back to the free tier or to rely more on platforms like YouTube to access music. On a global basis, Spotify generally insists that price increases have not resulted in significant numbers of users cancelling their subscriptions, though trends will obviously differ from market to market in this domain.
The Spotify price increases in Canada are the first in that market in about two years. At some point Spotify may also have to factor in the 5% streaming levy that has been introduced in Canada, which will see 5% of streaming revenues paid over to funds that support independent music and radio.
However, the streaming services are currently fighting the levy through the Canadian courts, and levy payments have been suspended pending the outcome of that legal battle.