Apple Music price goes up, but is a second hike in 11 years fair enough?
Apple Music is going up for the first time since 2022 with the company citing increased licensing costs.
Apple has increased the subscription cost for its Apple Music streaming platform in order to cope with increased costs of licensing music. The prices appear to be going up worldwide with the individual plan raising from $11/£11 to $12/£12. The family plan is going up $3/£3 to $20/£20. Students will pay an extra $1/£1, taking the price to $7/£7.
It’s only the second time that the price of Apple Music has risen since it was introduced 11 years ago for the price of $10/£10. It’s the first time it has risen since 2022. Both times the increase has been $1/£1.
Not to go to bat for Apple too much, but this represents an infrequent rise compared with some actors in the streaming world. While Spotify kept its individual tier at $9.99 for 12 years in the United States, it has since increased US prices three times since July 2023. It’s now $1 more expensive than Apple Music in the US, at $13.
An Apple spokesperson told Music Business Worldwide: “As a result of rising licensing costs, Apple Music is increasing its subscription price beginning today.”
Apple has been more vocal than most rivals over its desire to see artists paid their worth for music streaming and, if this is where the extra buck is going, then it’s difficult to begrudge the price increase. It remains one of the only providers not to offer a freemium tier due to this tenet.
For new customers, there’s no change to the policy of a free month and there are usually a ton of ways you can get free Apple Music trials. Generally you’ll get three months when you buy a new MacBook, for example. I’ll often see the carrot of a month of free Apple Music dangled when completing a purchase online too.
As a result of the price increases, Apple One bundles that feature Apple Music are also increasing in price by £2/$2.
Chris Smith
