Spotify announced on Monday that it was hitting regions outside of the US with another Premium price hike. Unfortunately, South Africa wasn’t left alone on this occasion. Affected customers “across South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region” will receive emails warning them of the impending change, which is set to take place this September.
While Spotify didn’t specifically mention South Africa in this warning shot, a visit to Spotify’s local website already lists the revised, more expensive prices.
Taking down your wallet, one subscription at a time
Despite Spotify increasing prices several times for customers worldwide, this is only the second to impact South African subscribers. When the service first launched in 2018, a single Premium account cost R60/m, before Spotify upped it to R65/m in 2023, with a similar hike for the Duo plan. From September, the platform will impose another R5 increase, taking a regular Premium account to R70/m.
Not even the streamer’s Family and Student subscribers are safe this time around. The Family plan, which allowed a monthly payment for up to six subscribers under one umbrella (and easy access to parental controls), will see a R20 increase, taking the fee up to R120/m. Eligible students who qualify for the discounted plan will contend with a smaller R3/m increase, for a total of R38/m.
Read More: Spotify’s Discover Weekly gets a personal overhaul, but still no hi-res audio
If you thought Spotify forgot about Duo subscribers, think again. Come September, those subscribed to a Duo account will pay R95/m for the privilege. Considering the plan allows for two Premium accounts under one payment, this hike aligns with the individual increases.
Fortunately, ditching Spotify is a breeze. Open the app on mobile or desktop, hit your profile picture, and click ‘Account’. From there, you’ll see the option to ‘close your account’ (mobile) or ‘cancel subscription’ (desktop). Follow the steps, and voila. No more Spotify.
