Spotify hikes prices in bid to boost profits

Spotify has hiked its prices for the first time in the UK to boost profits.

The Swedish music streaming company will charge £10.99 a month for its premium service, up from £9.99.

It will also raise family subscriptions by £1 a month to £17.99.

The Swedish music streaming company will charge £10.99 a month for its premium service, up from £9.99.

Spotify, which has 200m paying subscribers across the world streaming music from artists such as Adele, Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, said that the increases would affect several markets, including the US and the UK.

The company has struggled to turn a profit because of surging content costs, an advertising slowdown and intense competition.

Earlier this year Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek said he was looking to raise prices in more countries after upping subscription rates in 46 markets throughout 2022.

He admitted it had made some mistakes during its more than £1bn spending spree into podcasting, which included investing heavily into Prince Harry and Meghan’s podcast Archetypes.

In June the company said it would be cutting 200 jobs in this podcasting unit, adding to the hundreds who had already been sacked.

Rivals such as Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited have also raised prices in recent months.