Spotify will increase its prices again: what this will change for premium subscription holders

Spotify a annoncé ce jeudi 7 mars une augmentation des prix pour son abonnement premium en France. MAXPPP – Arnaud Journois

Spotify announced this Thursday, March 7, 2024, an increase in its prices for its premium subscription in France. 

"We did everything to avoid reaching this point, unfortunately the French government decided otherwise", deplores Spotify when announcing the increase in the price of its premium service, this Thursday March 7, 2024. "In short, all our premium users French people will see their subscription increase, and will now pay the highest package within the European Union", declared the Swedish group.

A previous increase in Spotify's pricing plan had already taken place in July 2023, going from 9.99 euros to 10.99 euros for the ’premium"  classic.

"The highest package in the European Union"

According to a press release from the streaming giant, the planned increase "soon" of its prices in France, is due to the additional costs "imposed" by the 1.2% tax implemented in 2024 on the turnover of online music listening platforms. The company is therefore directly targeting the French government as responsible for this increase in prices in France.

Lettre ouverte à nos abonnés pic.twitter.com/MajbNCcf4U

— Spotify France (@spotifyfrance) March 7, 2024

Indeed, music streaming services must now pay this tax which consists of financing the CNM, the National Music Center. A public organization aiming to support the French music industry, like the CNC for cinema, reports Huffpost.

This measure desired by Emmanuel Macron divides the music industry. It "should bring in 15 million euros", the government announced at the end of 2023. The objective : finance the National Music Center, a body created in 2020 to support the French music industry.

A tax "at the expense of listeners"

According to Spotify, this measure is experienced as "a double payment". The streaming platform regrets that this tax is not directly paid to the artists and that it makes "at the expense of listeners". Spotify is therefore obliged to pay "around a third of each euro to the rights holders and the French government" before &#39 ;add: "We simply cannot absorb additional taxes", regrets the company.