Spotify has announced that it will increase the monthly price of its Premium Individual subscription from €10.99 to €11.99 (approximately $13.86) in several regions beginning September 2025, as part of its broader efforts to drive profitability.
The price adjustment will affect users in Europe, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and parts of the Asia-Pacific region.
According to the music streaming giant, subscribers in these affected markets will begin receiving official email notifications detailing the new pricing and when the changes will take effect.
Profitability Push Amid Cost Pressures
Spotify says the price hike aligns with its strategy to boost profit margins in the face of rising operational costs, particularly employee-related taxes and expenses tied to artist royalties and platform innovation. The company had earlier warned investors that its quarterly profits may fall short of expectations due to these challenges.
Despite the hurdles, Spotify’s stock has seen a 40% gain year-to-date, with investors responding positively to the recent pricing move. Shares also rose by 3% in premarket trading on Monday, signaling confidence in the company’s monetization plans.
The streaming giant has recently implemented cost-cutting measures, including staff layoffs and scaling back podcasting investments, to improve its bottom line.
Crackdown on Artificial Streaming
Alongside the price hike, Spotify is ramping up efforts to combat artificial streaming—a growing issue involving the use of bots and click farms to inflate play counts. These fraudulent activities not only distort the platform’s ecosystem but also redirect royalties away from legitimate artists.
Spotify’s Head of Artist & Industry Partnerships (International), Bryan Johnson, emphasized that distributors and labels will now be charged per track when high levels of artificial streams are detected.
“We know how frustrating it can be if you’re caught up in any of this. That’s why we’re investing heavily in tech and resources to detect artificial streams and enforcing policies quickly to deter bad actors,” Johnson said.
Andreea Gleeson, CEO of the distribution platform Tunecore, also weighed in, calling for greater protection of the platform’s integrity:
“It’s very, very important that we protect the ecosystem so that artists with legitimate listeners benefit from their hard work.”
Spotify said it will continue investing in anti-fraud technology and policy enforcement to ensure that genuine artists are properly compensated and rewarded.
