Apple Music and Apple TV Plus+ prices have gone up.
Apple raises subscription prices on Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, and Apple One, coinciding with its recent wave of software updates.
TechCrunch says the company raised its prices for the first time since its launch, joining other companies that have raised their prices left and right in 2022.
Apple cited licensing costs as the reason for the price hike.
Apple raises monthly and annual subscription prices for streaming services such as Apple TV Plus and Apple Music in the United States by 10% of their original prices.
With this price increase, an individual subscription to Apple Music will now cost $11 in the US, down from the previous price of $10, or $109 a year.
The Family plan will also be available for $17 per month instead of $15, while Apple TV Plus has seen the biggest increase from $5 to $7 per month or $50 to $69 per year, Engadget writes.
Additionally, Apple One bundles will also see a price increase for the individual plan, which will now be $17 per month, up from $15 previously.
Additionally, the Apple One bundle family plan is now $20 to $23 per month, while Premier users will now pay $33 for the subscription, up from the previous price of $30.
These Apple One bundles include six Apple services such as Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade, iCloud Plus, Apple News Plus, and Apple Fitness Plus.
According to 9to5Mac, the increase in the price of Apple Music subscriptions is due to more expensive licenses for music that will allow artists and writers to earn more from streaming music.
Similarly, the price increase for Apple TV Plus services will also reflect a much larger offering in the catalog of shows and movies.
9to5Mac writes that the international Apple market should also expect proportional price increases on the previously mentioned products starting today.
In this regard, customers who are currently subscribed to any of the plans will receive notifications about the planned price increase 30 days before Apple renews its services at a higher price.
A price increase occurs after a period of inflation.
Companies around the world are implementing price hikes due to high inflation affecting industries, forcing them to take drastic measures to keep up with consumer demand.
CNBC writes that Apple’s price hike should help the company generate revenue from its growing services business.
With subscription prices rising, Apple’s services are now at risk of falling behind cheaper subscription offers.
However, SlashGear writes that Apple claims to offer better value for its services, which may lead to higher prices.
Apple Music, for example, announced a free lossless audio upgrade for its entire music catalog, even though it costs more than its competitor Spotify Premium.
With such offerings, Apple is at the forefront of streaming services, hitting the 100 million song milestone in October 2022.
Additionally, Apple Music also offers a selection of podcasts that subscribers can stream anytime, anywhere, SlashGear says.
