Spotify CEO Hints at Raise in U.S. Subscription Cost for First Time

Get ready to pay a bit more to stream your favorite songs. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek revealed on Tuesday (Apr. 25) his desire to raise prices for American subscriptions for the first time.

“I think we are ready to raise prices, I think we have the ability to do that, but it really comes down to those negotiations,” Ek said.

“We did raise prices in 46 different locations and markets last year, and even in those markets we were still outperforming,” said Ek. “I feel really good about our ability to raise prices over time and we have lots of data now that backs that up. We may have been marginally helped by being a lower-cost provider, but it isn’t a primary part of our strategy and it’s not something that we’re thinking about.”

According to TechCrunch, Spotify currently boasts over 515 million monthly active users, an increase of 5% from the previous quarter. The number is also a 22% increase from the last year. Of that number, 210 million are premium subscribers.