Apple Music Raises Streaming Subscription Prices for First Time in Nearly Four Years

For Apple Music subscriber Oliver Schusser, the latest price hike is a badge of honor. In an interview with Kristin Robinson for Billboard's On the Record podcast in April, Schusser, Apple Music's vp, proudly declared that the platform is the only music streamer without a free tier. This conviction is rooted in a fundamental belief that free (ad-supported) streaming tiers are detrimental to the music industry, leading to lower subscription prices and, ultimately, reduced revenue for artists and songwriters.

Schusser's stance on free streaming tiers may seem counterintuitive, but it's a perspective shared by many in the music industry. According to Schusser, the existence of free services forces paid platforms like Apple Music to compete on price, rather than on the quality and value of their service. This, he argues, results in lower subscription prices that fail to adequately compensate artists and songwriters for their work.

Apple Music's price hike comes at a time when rival streaming platform Spotify has been steadily increasing its subscription prices over the past few years. In July 2023, Spotify raised its individual premium plan to $12.99 a month, followed by another hike in July 2024 and a third increase in February of this year. The price for Spotify's individual premium plan is now $12.99 a month, while its family plan is $21.99, its duo plan is $18.99, and its student plan costs $6.99.

The price hikes by Apple Music and Spotify signal a shift in the music streaming landscape. With the rise of streaming services, the traditional music industry model, where artists and songwriters earned revenue through album sales and royalties, has been disrupted. The free tier fallacy, as advocated by Schusser, may be a relic of the past, but its legacy continues to shape the music industry's economic dynamics.

For artists and songwriters, the price hikes by Apple Music and Spotify present a dilemma. On one hand, increased subscription prices may lead to higher revenue for creators. On the other hand, the shift towards paid services may further marginalize those who rely on free streaming tiers to reach a wider audience.

In the coming months, we can expect other music streaming services to follow suit, raising their subscription prices to keep pace with the market. This will likely lead to a new normal in the music streaming landscape, where paid services become the standard and free tiers become a thing of the past.

As the music industry continues to evolve, one thing is certain: the cost of music streaming will only continue to rise. Whether this is a good or bad thing remains to be seen. For Oliver Schusser and Apple Music, the price hike is a necessary step towards preserving the value of music in the digital age.