Bring back Napster… 

In case you were too busy binge watching the entire James Bond franchise yesterday (thanks, Netflix)... your other friendly neighborhood subscription grifter (read: Spotify), announced it’s raising Premium prices again. Another $1. Another “we value your experience” email. Another month of paying more to hear the same 40 songs you’ve been looping since 2018. 

(Source: Giphy) 

In short, premium is going from $11.99 to $12.99 in the U.S. (and Estonia + Latvia, because apparently those are the three pillars of global pricing strategy). It kicks in starting February on your billing date, meaning you’ll wake up one morning with the shocking realization that you’re suddenly $1 poorer. Which doesn’t seem like a big thing until you realize this is the third time Spotify has done this recently. For instance, the highway robbery started back in July 2023, another one in June 2024, and now this. At this pace, Spotify Premium will cost $39.99 a month by the time my kid learns long division.

But can you really be mad about this? Ehh not really. This is just what happens when a company realizes it’s running the greatest business model ever invented: The “you’re not cancelling even if you wanted to” tax. See, Spotify has already said it hasn’t really seen meaningful churn from past increases. People complain, post memes, threaten to switch, then immediately hit play on their “Gym Motivation” playlist like the addicts we all are. Translation: they can raise prices because they can.

(Source: New York Post) 

And that’s why the whole “we’re reinvesting into a great experience and supporting creators” line hits like a wet napkin. You’re not paying extra because the experience got better. You’re paying extra because Spotify finally realized it’s basically a utility. Meaning you simply don’t cancel Spotify, you cancel other things so you can keep Spotify LOL. 

Case in point: Premium subs are up 12% to 281 million and monthly active users are at 713 million. So yeah… the machine is still working, and the brand is 100% embedded in people’s lives like WiFi. So why did the stock drop ~4%? Because the market is full of drama queens who act shocked every time a company does the exact thing it said it would do. Spotify’s been leaning on price hikes to drive growth for a while now. This wasn’t a surprise. It was just… annoying.

(Source: Giphy) 

Also, Spotify is in a weird spot where it’s not just “music” anymore. It’s trying to be the everything app for audio: podcasts, audiobooks, now video podcasts, music videos, monetization tools for creators… the whole buffet. Which is fine. But every time Spotify adds something new, it feels like you’re paying more so they can chase YouTube in a different lane. For me specifically, I didn’t ask for video podcasts on Spotify. All I asked is for the app to stop playing the clean version of a song when I very clearly have a filthy soul (jk). 

But hey, at the end of the day, it’s only $1, right? No problem. The scary part though is that until people actually cancel… They're going to keep doing it. See you in June. Until next time, friends… 

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News holds positions in Netflix and Spotify as mentioned in the article.