Spotify Plans US Price Hike Next Year, Report Reveals

Photo Credit:
Barbora Dostálová

A new report from the Financial Times reveals that Spotify is prepping to announce a new US price hike in Q1 2026. This report cites three sources dialed into Spotify’s thinking.

The streaming giant has already raised prices in markets including South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. If Spotify raises prices for American consumers next year, it will be the first price hike since June 2024 in the United States. Spotify has not responded to press inquiry for comments.

Spotify has leaned heavily on price increases in recent years to drive earnings growth. It raised the cost of its premium individual plan in more than 150 markets this year—the US price hike planned would be catching up with the rest of the world.

This Financial Times report highlights pressure from the major record labels on both Apple and Spotify to raise their streaming subscription prices. According to the report, labels are unhappy with the cost of music services not keeping up with inflation. The report also cites Spotify and Apple Music being priced below video streaming service Netflix as another issue brought up by labels.

The price of Spotify Premium in the United States currently stands at $11.99 per month, while Apple Music costs $10.99 per month. David Israelite, President & CEO of the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), has long led the call for streaming services to raise their subscription prices to ensure artists, publishers, and rights holders are fairly compensated.

The latest Copyright Royalty Board agreement for streaming royalties saw mechanical royalty rates climb incrementally from 15.1% of revenue in 2023 to 15.35% by 2027. Israelite emphasizes that these price increases, combined with subscriber growth, are essential for sustaining robust royalty payments to songwriters and publishers. The mechanical royalty rate percentage only becomes meaningful if the overall revenue pool grows through higher subscription fees.

The price hike will likely coincide with Spotify’s major video rollout in the United States to better compete with YouTube. YouTube now dominates growth thanks to the TV platform, where video podcasts have driven growth over the entirety of 2025.