Spotify raises prices for premium subscription services in more than 50 countries | Science and technology news

Spotify is raising prices for its premium ad-free service in more than 50 countries including the US, UK and Ireland.

The music-streaming company, which has more than 200 million Premium subscribers, said the move will result in a $1 (78 pence) increase for US-based plans.

That means pricing now starts at a monthly rate of $10.99 (£8.56) for an Individual plan, $14.99 (£11.68) for the Duo plan, $16.99 (£13.29) for the Family plan and $5.99 (£4.67) for the Student plan.

The price of UK-based plans is expected to increase by £1, according to technology news website The Verge.

A total of 53 countries are affected by the price increase, including Spain, Australia, Canada and France.

The company said that existing subscribers will be notified a month before the price changes take effect.

That’s because the other streaming services have also increased their prices as investor pressure mounts to boost profitability after years of rising user bases.

Services from Apple and Amazon have hiked prices this year, while YouTube also raised prices on its monthly and yearly premium plans in the US last week, the first time since the subscription service launched in 2018.

In recent months, Spotify Hundreds of employees have been laid off and restructured the billion-dollar investment podcast unit to improve profits.

The Sweden-based company said premium subscribers would have to switch to their free ad-supported service if they didn’t want to pay the higher fee.