Apple increases subscription prices globally

In South Africa, the monthly cost of using Apple Music has jumped from R59.99 ($3.32) to R69.99, a 16.7% climb, while the Family Plan will now set users back R109.99, representing a 22.2% climb from R89.99.

The Apple TV+ service spiked R84.99 to R124.99, a steep increase of 47% for using the video streaming platform. Apple One, meanwhile, moved from R139.99 to R179.99, growing 28.6%.

The move marks the company’s first price hike in South Africa since Apple Music was launched. Apple said the price change for the service was due to increases in licensing costs, and expects artists and songwriters to earn more.

“The subscription prices for Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple One will increase beginning today,” Apple said. “The change to Apple Music is due to an increase in licensing costs, and in turn, artists and songwriters will earn more for the streaming of their music.

In the US, the cost of Apple Music is now $10.99 a month, rising from $9.99, while TV+ climbed to $6.99 from $4.99. The standard Apple One bundle increased to $16.95 from $14.95. In the UK, the Individual plan price is moving up to £10.99 and the Family plan is growing to £16.99. Prices in Europe are jumping to €10.99 and €16.99 for the former and latter plans, respectively.

Apple said its TV service was launched “at a very low price because we started with just a few shows and movies.” The service now boasts an extensive catalogue “home to an extensive selection of award-winning and broadly acclaimed series, feature films, documentaries, and kids and family entertainment from the world’s most creative storytellers.”

Over the past few years, Apple has bolstered its music platform with various features including adding top quality audio formats Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos for free. The company, alongside Mercedes-Benz, recently announced that those formats will be available in Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Earlier this month, the music streaming service said that it now has 100 million songs on its platform.

The Apple One bundle, which is not available in South Africa, soared from $19.95 to $22.95. The Premier package, which adds News+, Fitness+ and additional storage to Arcade, Music and TV+, grew from $32.95 to $29.95.

Meanwhile, leading music streaming service Spotify has only raised prices for tiers allowing multiple users such as its Family Plan in a number of markets including in the UK and US as well as its individual Premium subscription cost in markets such as Brazil, Argentina and Sweden in the past year. Spotify is expected to publish its earnings for the third quarter, which could see the company announce changes to its price points for its subscription plans.