That’s it, prices have increased again at Spotify, and these new increases have exclusively affected France. The reason is the new “streaming tax” imposed by the French government.
As announced a few weeks ago, Spotify has just increased its subscription prices in France to offset the cost of the new “streaming tax” introduced by the government. If the increase remains modest, it illustrates the Swedish giant’s revolt against this compulsory contribution.
This decision follows the entry into force on January 1, 2024 of a levy of 1.2% on the turnover of music streaming platforms in France. This contribution aims to finance the French music industry via the National Music Center. A tax that Spotify has strongly contested for months, not hesitating to threaten to withdraw from the French market. In an open letter published in March, the platform denounced “additional costs” that it could not absorbforcing it to increase its prices for its French subscribers who would then pay “the highest package in the European Union“.
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What are the new subscription prices at Spotify?
The new prices for the Spotify Premium subscription are now as follows in France:
- Individual Formula : €11.12/month (+€0.13)
- Students : 6.06€/month (+ 0.07€)
- Duo : €15.17/month (+€0.18)
- Family : €18.21/month (+€0.22)
These extremely low increases are ultimately good news for users, since Spotify could have simply chosen to increase the price of all its subscriptions by one euro. By choosing to offset the impact of the streaming tax to the nearest cent on each subscription, the platform perhaps hopes to pass the pill on to subscribers by being completely transparent about the additional costs generated.
Please note that this increase currently only concerns new subscribers. Existing users will only be impacted from July 2024, when their plan is renewed.
As for competitors like Apple Music or Deezer, we are still keeping a low profile regarding this tax. It remains to be seen whether Spotify will succeed, through this price revolt, in obtaining a review or elimination of the levy. Or if these marginal increases will end up sustainably establishing its image as a premium service in France.