The Swedish streaming service has already implemented price hikes in more than 150 markets globally, including Europe, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region. 

In August, Spotify raised its premium individual plan from €10.99 to €11.99 in these regions. The upcoming U.S. adjustment aims to bolster revenue and respond to pressure from investors and record labels.

JPMorgan analysts have estimated that even a $1 increase per month could add around $500 million to Spotify’s annual revenue. Record labels argue that streaming fees have lagged behind inflation and remain lower than comparable services such as Netflix, making price hikes necessary for fairer compensation and long-term sustainability.

Spotify’s leadership change adds another aspect to this transition. Founder Daniel Ek recently stepped down as CEO, and the company has appointed two co-CEOs: Gustav Söderström, the current Chief Product and Technology Officer, and Alex Norström, the Chief Business Officer. 

The move is seen by analysts as a strategic recalibration, combining product innovation with stronger business growth priorities.

The streaming giant remains the world’s largest music service, with over 600 million monthly active users. Its preeminence, coupled with subscriber loyalty, gives Spotify confidence that the U.S. price rise will be absorbed without significant churn. 

Reports also suggest that competitors like Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music may follow with similar increases as the market adjusts to higher subscription norms.

That’s why Spotify has the Free tier, which offers the same quality listening experience that the platform is known for, but without the monthly subscription fee.

Personalisation is at the heart of what we do at Spotify, curating music based on every user’s listening habits, so the more you listen, the more you are setting the tone. 

With playlists made just for you, whether you are on Spotify Premium, or the Free Tier, here are some of the features you shouldn’t miss out on: 

1. Made For You  

Spotify’s “Made For You” feature is where listeners can access various playlists that have been specifically made for them and are updated regularly.

Users can easily find songs they might like compiled into playlists arranged according to genre, artist, mood and even decade. These playlists are created based on a person’s listening habits, which include tracks they like, save, skip, repeat or share on the app. 

2. Discover Weekly 

One of Spotify’s algorithm based playlists, “Discover Weekly” is a playlist of 30 songs that  a user has not streamed before curated and updated by Spotify every Monday.

With a variety of artists to explore, Discover Weekly caters to the needs of music lovers, helping them to discover artists, genres or songs they might like, but haven’t come across, yet. This playlist becomes more personalised and tailored to your tastes, the more you use it. 

3. Daily Mix  

This is a feature that feels like that friend who is excited to learn about things that you love the most, to buy them for you. The platform serves up to six personalised playlists based on your favourite songs and related music you might enjoy.

Each of the personalised playlist is different, and can be as diverse as a user’s listening habits. As the name suggests, this playlist updates daily so you know the vibes never stop.

4. Release Radar  

Fridays are popular for releases of music around the world. Spotify knows this and has created a playlist that caters to that. These songs are new releases from artists that you follow. It helps music lovers keep up to date with the latest releases from artists they love. 

5. Spotify Radio 

Have you ever enjoyed a song so much, and wished you could find music that sounds the same, without having to physically search for it? This is what Spotify Radio is. 

It is a playlist created based on songs, artists and albums you select on Spotify, and helps you find very similar songs that fit the genre or mood of a selected song or artist. The compilation is about 50 tracks following the mood of the initially selected song.

For the data conscious, we have partnered with Airtel in Nigeria to ensure low data usage when streaming on Spotify.

Go ahead and enjoy your music without worrying about data bundles. 

Experience Spotify by visiting the Android or iOS app store