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Amazon Music Unlimited subscription prices are going up again https://ift.tt/5gbxzAL Another streaming service raises prices. This time, Amazon Music Unlimited is getting more expensive. Prime subscribers will pay $11 per month or $109 per year for an individual plan, up from $10 and $99 respectively. Non-Prime members will see their monthly rates change from $11 to $12 for the individual plan. The cost of the family plan has also increased from $17 to $20 per month and from $169 to $199 per year. The new pricing structure went into effect for new subscribers on January 29. Current subscribers will receive the updated rates in the next billing cycle on or after March 5. The FAQs detailing the price increase say that the changes will bring listeners “more content and features,” which was the same rationale given when Amazon Music Unlimited previously raised its rates in 2023. Since then, the service has added the ability to borrow Audible audiobooks and a personalized year in review, which is nice, but perhaps not as nice as paying less each month.

David Israelite President/CEO | National Music Publishers’ Association The NMPA’s main focus is “the continuation of the fight over fair compensation for streaming,” Israelite says. The most important aspect of that is the conflict regarding how Spotify bundled music with audiobooks in order to reduce the royalties it pays music publishers — and, through them, songwriters — to the tune of $213 million in mechanical royalties in 2024 alone, according to the NMPA. Right now, it appears other companies will not follow this lead; Amazon’s bundle, announced in November, won’t decrease publishing royalties. On the horizon: the next rate-setting case for streaming mechanicals, due to start in 2026, which will cover 2028-2032. Settlement negotiations with some steamers have begun, Israelite says, but “we expect to be litigating against Spotify.” Also, the NMPA-Twitter (now known as X) lawsuit “marches forward.”

Spotify and Universal Music Group have announced a new multi-year licensing deal, and in the process sparked speculation about what it means for the streaming service’s controversial ‘bundle’ royalties approach in the US. The announcement of the deal referred to “new and evolving offers, new paid subscription tiers, bundling of music and non-music content, and a richer audio and visual content catalog” but the key paragraph focused on the publishing aspects. “The new publishing agreement also establishes a direct license between Spotify and Universal Music Publishing Group across Spotify’s current product portfolio in the U.S. and several other countries,” explained the two companies. The direct deal is what is sparking debate, given Spotify’s decision last year to switch to ‘bundle’ royalties for its Premium tier after adding audiobooks. Under the current US rates system, bundles pay out lower mechanical royalties, but a direct deal can change that. Read More: https://lnkd.in/dZ5uKaNK #musicnews #musically #spotify #umg #readmore

Spotify, the music streaming giant, is raising prices again. This is the second time in one year they've upped the price of their premium subscriptions. Spotify claims it's to remain profitable and fund their addition of audiobooks to the app. With rising prices everywhere you turn, does Spotify stay on the list of must-have subscriptions? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gFrBmePh #availmarketing #digitalmarketing #socialmediamarketing #digitalmarketingexpert #socialmediastrategy #marketingdigital #shapingstoriesintosuccess #spotify #marketingnews

The National Music Publishers' Association has strongly criticised Spotify over the impact of its new audiobooks+music bundle on mechanical royalties payouts, and last week the Mechanical Licensing Collective sued the streaming service. Now one of the major publishers, Sony Music Publishing, has joined the battle. “We do not agree with Spotify’s position. While the CRB rate structure allows for a discounted bundle rate in certain circumstances, we do not believe this offering falls within the parameters that were agreed in the last CRB proceeding,” chairman and CEO Jon Platt wrote in a letter to the company’s songwriters and composers, which was republished by Digital Music News. Platt honed in on Spotify’s methodology: adding audiobooks to its premium subscription then reclassifying it as a bundle for royalties purposes. “In effect, Spotify is taking the position that all US subscribers are part of a bundle without choosing the bundle option,” wrote Platt. https://lnkd.in/dKAWNXzJ #MusicPublishing #Spotify #Royalties #musically #musicnews #readmore

David Israelite President/CEO National Music Publishers’ Association The NMPA’s main focus is “the continuation of the fight over fair compensation for streaming,” Israelite says. The most important aspect of that is the conflict regarding how Spotify bundled music with audiobooks in order to reduce the royalties it pays music publishers — and, through them, songwriters — to the tune of $213 million in mechanical royalties in 2024 alone, according to the NMPA. Right now, it appears other companies will not follow this lead; Amazon’s bundle, announced in November, won’t decrease publishing royalties. On the horizon: the next rate-setting case for streaming mechanicals, due to start in 2026, which will cover 2028-2032. Settlement negotiations with some steamers have begun, Israelite says, but “we expect to be litigating against Spotify.” Also, the NMPA-Twitter (now known as X) lawsuit “marches forward.”

Is this one of the great masterclasses in subscription pricing? Ask me what 3 things I would take to a desert island, and somewhere in there would be my Spotify subscription. I barely notice the fact my monthly bill has gone up from £16.99 to £19.99 in less than a year. And it could be about to go up to £24.99 if I wanted HiFi quality audio (Amazon and Apple would give it to me as standard) But since raising prices last year: - Paid subs have continued to grow - Churn rate remains at sub 2% (vs 5%+ for SVOD services) It turns out that, having not raised prices for the first 15 years of its existence, whilst adding new content and features, Spotify has built a very sticky and attractive proposition. The secret: 🎯 Hyper-personalised 🏃 Vested interest (everyone has put in time creating playlists and saving songs) 👍 Tangible added-value features (Could have raised prices with the volume of songs, but the value of 'more of the same' is less tangible than a 'new category' such as audiobooks) The big question: how long will this trend continue, or, just how 'sticky' is Spotify? ————————— 🤓 Useful? Subscribe for a weekly fix of media nuggets every Tuesday: https://buff.ly/43QeqIu

A new “Share to TikTok” feature in Spotify and Apple Music is making it easier for users to share songs, playlists, audiobooks, and more directly in content on the video platform. Using the integrations, TikTok users can create a direct link to content on the streaming platforms, similar to how they can share songs directly on Instagram Stories. When a user shares a Spotify track, for example, they can choose whether the song will appear as a video, photo, or Story post on TikTok. Viewers of the content can then click the song and navigate directly back to their preferred music app. TikTok has become a major way audiences discover new music, and the platform has introduced other integrations that better connect the two worlds. Last year, TikTok added the ability to save songs directly from the app without leaving and going to Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. #tiktok #spotify #streaming #entertainment #tech #news https://lnkd.in/gCiWh_Jm

Apple Finally Allows Spotify To Show Pricing Info To EU Users on iOS: An anonymous reader shares a report: After much back and forth earlier this year, Spotify on Wednesday says it's now received approval from Apple to display pricing information in its iOS app for users in the EU. The company is not opting into Apple's new business rules under the EU's Digital Markets Act, but rather is taking advantage of new antitrust guidelines imposed by the EU specifically for music streaming apps. Apple in March was fined by European regulators nearly $2 billion for breaching antitrust rules in the market. Spotify and Apple have also gone back and forth over an update to Spotify's app that would allow the music streamer to share pricing information with EU users. Now, Spotify says its app update has been approved, and it will be able to display the pricing for things like Spotify subscriptions and digital goods, including Spotify's more recently added collection of audiobooks. The latter includes the ability to show the pricing for subscription plans that include audiobook streaming, as well as "top off" hours users can buy to complete their audiobook listening and a la carte audiobook prices. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple Finally Allows Spotify To Show Pricing Info To EU Users on iOS: An anonymous reader shares a report: After much back and forth earlier this year, Spotify on Wednesday says it's now received approval from Apple to display pricing information in its iOS app for users in the EU. The company is not opting into Apple's new business rules under the EU's Digital Markets Act, but rather is taking advantage of new antitrust guidelines imposed by the EU specifically for music streaming apps. Apple in March was fined by European regulators nearly $2 billion for breaching antitrust rules in the market. Spotify and Apple have also gone back and forth over an update to Spotify's app that would allow the music streamer to share pricing information with EU users. Now, Spotify says its app update has been approved, and it will be able to display the pricing for things like Spotify subscriptions and digital goods, including Spotify's more recently added collection of audiobooks. The latter includes the ability to show the pricing for subscription plans that include audiobook streaming, as well as "top off" hours users can buy to complete their audiobook listening and a la carte audiobook prices. Read more of this story at Slashdot.