Amazon Music has informed customers that it will increase its subscription prices as it aims to more directly compete with Spotify.
Amazon said that the price for an individual Amazon Music Unlimited subscription will be increased by U$1 (A$1.6) on the first billing date on or after March 5, 2025.
This means that Prime members will now pay $11 per month (A$17.72) instead of $10 (A$16.11), while non-Prime members will pay $12 (A$19.33) instead of $11 (A$17.72).
Family membership prices are also set to rise by $3 (A$4.83) per month and will cost $20 (A$32.21) per month.
While the latest subscription hikes are announced for customers in the US, Canada, and the UK, it isn’t clear if Australian customers will also be phased in for a hike.
At present, new subscribers in Australia are charged A$12.99 per month, after receiving the first month free.
Amazon’s decision to raise its subscription prices comes at a time where rival Spotify is quickly growing its paid subscriber numbers.
According to stats site Yaguara, Amazon Music has over 80 million users worldwide, giving it a reported 11.11% share of the global music streaming market. In contrast, Spotify has 640 million monthly active users, and at the end of the third quarter last year, its paying subscribers grew to 252 million.
In December, Amazon and Universal Music Group entered into an agreement to boost fan engagement. Universal entered into a similar agreement with Spotify.
UMG’s Streaming 2.0 vision which it unveiled to investors last year and has referenced at the time of announcing the Amazon and Spotify deals, envisioned a “Super-Premium” subscription for superfans that could mean things like early access to music, exclusive deluxe editions, hi-res audio, and artist Q&As, according to The Verge.
