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Amazon Increases Music Unlimited Prices: What This Means for Apple and YouTube

Published January 31, 2025

For those who enjoy video streaming, price hikes have almost become routine, much like a typical Tuesday. However, when it comes to music streaming, any increase in prices tends to draw significant attention and can affect the entire industry.

Recently, Amazon has raised the monthly cost of its individual Music Unlimited plan to $11.99, while Prime members will pay $10.99 per month. This change is effective immediately for new subscribers, and existing subscribers will see the adjusted rate reflected in their next billing cycle, according to reports.

This price adjustment aligns Amazon’s music streaming costs with those of Spotify, which increased its individual Premium plan to $11.99 per month last summer. Spotify has also raised prices for its Family and Duo plans.

Currently, other streaming services like Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal maintain their monthly subscription fees at $10.99. For now, consumers looking for unlimited music streaming can find these services to be a more affordable option.

However, the trend suggests that these prices may not remain unchanged for long. It is anticipated that Apple, YouTube, and likely Tidal will also increase their rates to $11.99 per month for individual streaming plans before the year concludes. Interestingly, Qobuz currently charges $12.99 a month, although it offers a discounted rate of $10.83 for subscribers who commit to an annual plan.

Understanding the Price Changes

To understand why these shifts are happening, it is important to distinguish between music and video streaming platforms. Major video streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, and Max offer unique content such as exclusive shows and films. For example, only Netflix has Squid Game, while Hulu offers shows not available on other platforms.

This exclusivity means consumers might hesitate to switch services, fearing they would miss out on popular shows like House of the Dragon or Tulsa King if they do. In contrast, music streaming services tend to feature largely similar catalogs. Consequently, when platforms like Spotify increase prices, users can easily switch to a lower-cost alternative without sacrificing their music selection. (While switching may involve the challenge of transferring playlists, many tools exist to facilitate this process.)

As such, raising prices within the music streaming sector can resemble a game of chicken, with all major platforms wanting to increase their costs but hesitating to be the first to make a move.

The Pricing Timeline

For more than ten years, individual music streaming prices generally hovered around $9.99 per month until October 2022, when Apple Music became the first to increase its rate to $10.99 monthly. Soon after, $10.99 established itself as the new industry standard.

This price point persisted for about two years, until Spotify decided to raise its price to $11.99 last summer for its individual Premium subscription, creating a direct match with Amazon’s recent pricing.

As of now, Amazon Music Unlimited has adopted the same pricing structure as Spotify, making Apple Music and YouTube Music more attractive due to their lower costs. However, it is likely only a matter of time before these platforms follow suit.

Amazon, Spotify, Apple