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Apple Music Hikes Subscription Prices, Citing Rising Licensing Fees - Variety
Technology and ScienceBy Todd Spangler7/17/20261 min read
Apple is hiking the prices of Apple Music subscription plans -- the tech giant's first rate increases for the service since the fall of 2022, citing higher music licensing costs.
✨ Key Highlights
- Apple has raised prices for Apple Music subscription plans, marking the tech giant's first rate increase for the service since fall 2022, attributing the change to higher music licensing costs.
- In the U.S., the individual plan increases from $10.99 to $11.99 per month, the family plan (up to six accounts) rises from $16.99 to $19.99, and the student plan goes from $5.99 to $6.99 monthly.
- The new pricing takes effect immediately across many global markets where Apple Music is available, including the United States.
- Even with the increases, Apple Music remains cheaper than rival Spotify, which earlier this year raised its U.S. individual premium plan to $12.99 and its family plan to $21.99 per month.
- Launched in 2015, Apple Music offers more than 100 million ad-free songs, offline downloads, exclusive artist content, curated playlists, and Spatial Audio and lossless audio quality.
- Apple reported that the service hit all-time highs in listenership and new subscribers in 2025 without disclosing figures, having added features such as Lyrics Translation and Pronunciation, AutoMix, Library Pins, in-app Replay stats, and an expanded Apple Music Sing.
Apple is hiking the prices of Apple Music subscription plans — the tech giant’s first rate increases for the service since the fall of 2022, citing higher music licensing costs.
The new pricing is e