Apple just raised the subscription fee for its eponymous music streaming service. For individual plans, the price has climbed by a dollar, and so has the affordable student tier. The fee for the family plan has gone up by $3, and it now costs $19.99 in the US. The benefits associated with each plan remain unchanged.
How much do I pay now?
If you are a new subscriber, the revised prices are effective immediately. For old subscribers, they will pay the increased fee once the ongoing billing cycle comes to an end. Here’s the new pricing that is now updated on Apple’s site:
The old pricing of the music streaming subscription is below:
Prices have also gone up for users in the UK and the rest of Europe, as well. Here’s a comparison table to reflect the price change in the US:
| Plan | Old Price (per month) | New Price (per month) |
| Individual | $10.99 | $11.99 |
| Family | $16.99 | $19.99 |
| Student | $5.99 | $6.99 |
But why?
Apple didn’t go into detail about the reason behind the price surge, but its brief statement shared with MusicBusinessWorldwide sheds enough light on the cause. “As a result of rising licensing costs, Apple Music is increasing its subscription price beginning today,” the company said. It’s not a surprising turn of events.
Over the past couple of years, music streaming services such as Spotify and Amazon Music have raised the subcription costs on multiple occasions. Spotify also raised the price earlier this year across its individual and family bundles, and they now start at $12.99 per month. Amazon Music also got pricier last year, reaching $11 per month for Prime members and $12 per month for non-Prime subscribers.
Rising licensing costs aren’t the only major headache for streaming platforms. In the past couple of years, AI music has emerged as a menace for music streaming sites as well as artists, with the latter already fighting for better pay from streaming companies. While the likes of Tidal have taken a more strict stance, music labels are now fighting to implement an industry-wide AI labeling system so that listeners can make an informed decision on whether they want to stream an AI-generated song or skip it.