The music streaming service Spotify announced yesterday it would be raising the price of its monthly subscription service for over 50 countries including Ireland.

Spotify Premium Individual and Student plans will each increase by €1 to €10.99 and €5.99 respectively. Premium family will go up by €2 from €15.99 to 17.99, while Premium Duo will see the largest increase, up €2.50 from €12.49 to €14.99.

A spokesperson for the platform said that Spotify Premium subscribers would be notified one month in advance of the change.

The move comes after significant layoffs last January, totaling six percent of the company's global workforce, and an additional 200 layoffs in June as part of a restructuring of the company's podcast division.

Spotify launched its podcast division in 2019 under the direction of CEO Daniel Ek, who admitted in a statement following the January layoffs, "In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth."

The podcast division had benefited from over a billion dollars of investment over four years, including the purchasing of two podcast studios, Gimlet Media and Parcast, and several exclusive deals with high-profile personalities including Joe Rogan, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and the Obamas.

There is disagreement among users as to whether this move will benefit artists and content creators or merely the company's bottom line.

Some, like Tom Gray of the UK's Musicians Union and Music Producers Guild, argue the price hike will help counter the effects of inflation for artists.

is there any indication that this means any increase for rightsholders? the only official word from Spotify is that it'll help them 'continue to innovate'

— Declan (@holmesprice) July 25, 2023

Others see the increase as a cash-grab for investors and a short term boost to company profits. Spotify is only the latest audio streaming service to announce a price hike.

Youtube announced last month its first price increase for its Youtube Premium plans since the service was first introduced five years ago.

All of Spotify's rivals, including Youtube, Amazon Music, Apple Music and Tidal, have raised the price of their subscriptions in recent months.