Spotify is reportedly ready to increase the price of its subscription offerings, with the music streaming service seeking to pay for its expansion into podcasts and audiobooks while battling to become profitable in the long term.
It's reported that the streamer intends to increase prices in five markets by the end of this month including the UK, Australia, and Pakistan according to a new report. That report also notes that the United States will receive a price hike as well, although that won't happen until later this year. The price increases are expected to be around $1 or $2 but it isn't clear how that will translate to local currencies.
The news comes as Spotify continues to diversify away from its music streaming roots in an attempt to reduce its reliance on music labels and cut its expenses at the same time.
A new basic tier
Bloomberg, citing an unnamed source, says that Spotify also intends to add a new lower-cost tier to the mix that will include access to music and podcasts for the same $11 asking price as before, although there will be no access to audiobooks without buying them ad-hoc.
Spotify reportedly still intends to launch the so-called Supremium plan that will offer improved audio quality among other things, but there is no word on when that will actually arrive.
Spotify has historically lost money each year and it sees price increases as a way to change that. It currently spends billions of dollars each year to pay royalties for the music that its users listen to, another reason to try and expand into audiobooks and podcasts.
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