Expect another day of ‘If Netflix can increase its prices why can’t Spotify?’ headlines, after the video-streaming service announced plans for a 13-18% increase in the US.
That includes a two-dollar rise for Netflix’s most-popular subscription plan in the US, which will now cost $13 a month rather than $11. The cheapest $8 plan will now cost $9, while the top-end $14 plan is going up to $16.
Netflix said that the changes will take place immediately for new subscribers, and roll out over the next three months for existing customers.
As MBW pointed out, this is the third Netflix price-rise in four years, spurring label rumblings about why Spotify has stuck at $9.99-a-month for more than a decade – for its part, Spotify has pushed back on pressure to hike its monthly cost, bar a trial last year in Norway.
There’s some interesting context to this in an article on CNBC this week: it cites a survey of Americans revealing that 84% underestimate what they spend on subscription services: not just Netflix and Spotify, but Amazon Prime, cable TV and Wi-Fi. The suggestion being that they aren’t as hyper-aware of these costs (and thus as hyper-sensitive to price rises) as we might think.
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