An individual Premium subscription is currently priced at $11.99<\/strong> in the US, following the most recent price rise<\/a> in June 2024. This would bring the combined cost of a Premium subscription plus the Super Pro ad-on to around $18 per month.<\/strong><\/p>\n That price range correlates with what Spotify CEO Daniel Ek<\/strong> told analysts in July last year when he confirmed<\/a> that the company was working on a pricier tier.<\/p>\n Pricing will be different in various territories and will be less expensive “in less-developed markets,” Bloomberg<\/em> reported.<\/span><\/p>\n According to the outlet’s sources, the rollout is being planned for this year. However, the sources added that finer details like cost and exact launch dates haven’t been confirmed because Spotify has yet to secure “rights from all of the major music companies.”<\/p>\n Perks that could<\/em> be part of the new ‘Music Pro’ tier, according to<\/a> Bloomberg,<\/em> include early access to concert tickets<\/strong>, AI-powered remix features, and higher-fidelity audio.<\/span><\/p>\n Bloomberg<\/em> pointed out<\/a> that some of Spotify’s rivals already offer some of these individual features, such as Apple and Amazon’s hi-fi offerings. It added, however, that SPOT will be stacking them into one service,\u00a0 “starting with a more basic version this year and adding features in the years to come”.<\/span><\/p>\n Spotify’s yet-to-be-introduced superfan tier was first referred to as ‘Music Pro<\/strong>‘ by Boyd Muir<\/a>, Universal Music Group’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, at Morgan Stanley<\/strong>\u2019s European Tech, Media, and Telecom Conference back in<\/span> November.<\/p>\n Muir also suggested<\/a> that between 20% and 30% of paying music subscribers will eventually sign up for superfan subscription tiers. He said that he expects most music streaming services will introduce rival superfan services and that these subscription tiers would start rolling out in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce it\u2019s in the market, you sort of have to have a competitive offer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The Financial Times<\/em><\/a> also reported over the weekend that Spotify is preparing to launch a superfan tier this year.<\/p>\n The latest details about Spotify’s superfan tier arrive two weeks after Daniel Ek told analysts on SPOT’s Q4 earnings call that he is \u201ccoining\u201d 2025, \u201cthe year of accelerated execution<\/strong>\u201c.<\/p>\n Spotify’s “year of accelerated execution<\/strong>\u201c follows the company’s first full year of profitability<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ek said on the company’s recent earnings call that Spotify is \u201cgoing all in on [its] core and investing in more music experiences” on the streaming platform.<\/p>\n “Think video, think the higher-priced Premium tier that we\u2019ve discussed previously and new ways to bring fans and artists closer together,” he added.<\/p>\n In terms of Spotify’s talks with the record industry about the new superfan tier, Bloomberg<\/em> reported<\/a> over the weekend that Spotify has “secured the rights from many of its partners” to roll out the features included in ‘Music Pro’.<\/p>\n Bloomberg<\/em> suggested over the weekend, however, that Spotify “doesn\u2019t yet have rights from Sony“. In recent weeks, Spotify has renewed its licensing deals with Warner Music Group<\/a>\u00a0and Universal Music Group<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n News of Spotify and Universal Music Group’s licensing renewal, which includes ‘Streaming 2.0′<\/strong> elements, arrived a few days before UMG Chairman and CEO Sir Lucian Grainge confirmed in his annual memo to UMG staff that \u201cthe Streaming 2.0<\/strong> era\u201d had arrived.<\/p>\n The streaming 2.0 phrase was introduced at UMG\u2019s Capital Markets Day<\/a> in September, when UMG explained that \u2018Streaming 2.0\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0represented a new era of digital music focused on changes including:<\/p>\n \u201cBuilt on a foundation of artist-centric principles,\u00a0Streaming 2.0<\/strong>\u00a0will represent a new age of innovation, consumer segmentation, geographic expansion, greater consumer value, and ARPU growth,\u201d\u00a0wrote Grainge<\/a> in his staff memo on February 3.<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, on Spotify’s most recent (Q4) earnings call, Daniel Ek was asked by Jessica Reif Ehrlich at BofA Securities about the UMG deal and specifically about any \u201cbenefits\u201d Ek could provide insight on that \u201cmay impact new services\u201d at the platform.<\/p>\n Ek\u2019s response echoed one of the core fundamentals of the Streaming 2.0 proposition: user segmentation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n “The next version of the music industry, I believe, is one where we’re going to tailor the experience of Spotify to all of these different subgroups. One of them we’ve been talking about is super fans.”<\/p>\n Daniel Ek, speaking on Spotify’s Q4 earnings call<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n He told analysts that the \u201cnext version of the music industry is one where we\u2019re going to tailor the experience of Spotify\u201d to various \u201cdifferent subgroups\u201d \u2013 one of which, he explained, is super fans.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m personally super excited about this one. This is a product I\u2019ve been waiting on for quite some time as a super fan of music,\u201d said Ek on the company’s earnings call, in regards to the company’s superfan tier.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m playing around with it now and it\u2019s really exciting. But that\u2019s obviously one of those things that we are talking to the music industry about bringing to the table.”<\/p>\n Early access to concert tickets could be one the biggest selling points for Spotify’s superfan tier \u2013 as evidenced by recent demand for concerts by superstar artists ranging from Taylor Swift<\/a> to Oasis<\/a>, Beyonc\u00e9<\/a>, and Black Sabbath<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the Summer of 2022, Spotify was\u00a0testing<\/a>\u00a0concert ticket sales directly via the now-offline\u00a0\u2018<\/a>Spotify Tickets<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 site.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In a statement issued at the time, a Spotify spokesperson suggested that the ticket-selling trial may or may not be expanded beyond this initial test.<\/p>\n \u201cAt Spotify, we routinely test new products and ideas to improve our user experience,\u201d they said. \u201cSome of those end up paving the path for our broader user experience and others serve only as important learnings.\u201d<\/p>\n Spotify scaled back<\/a> its ticketing ambitions in early 2024.<\/p>\n Most recently, according to Bloomberg<\/em><\/a>, as part of its Music Pro plans, Spotify is “testing various ways to sell concert tickets, such as giving fans access to presales or better seats.”<\/p>\n Bloomberg<\/em> reported that Spotify has “held preliminary talks with major promoters and ticket sellers but has yet to finalize its plans”.<\/p>\n Recent stats from Luminate<\/a> show why superfans are becoming an increasingly important part of the music industry\u2019s monetization strategy.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/files\/2024\/04\/2EWAJAH-80x53.jpg\")
<\/i><\/a>
\n
\n