Apple raises the subscription prices on Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, and Apple One, matching its recent wave of software updates.
The company jack up its prices for the first time since its launch, joining other companies that hiked their prices left and right in 2022, Tech Crunch says.
Apple Cites Licensing Costs As The Reason For The Price Hike
Apple increases monthly and annual subscription prices in the United States for streaming services like Apple TV Plus and Apple Music by 10% of their original costs.
With this price hike, an individual subscription to Apple Music will now cost $11 a month from a previous price of $10 in the US, or $109 annually.
The family plan will also be available at $17 monthly instead of $15, while the Apple TV Plus sees the largest increase from $5 to $7 per month or from $50 to $69 per year, Engadget writes.
Furthermore, Apple One bundles will also see price increases for the individual plan which will now be at $17 a month versus the earlier $15.
Additionally, the Apple One bundles family plan is now at $23 per month from $20, while premier customers will now have to pay $33 for a subscription from a 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 9to5 Mac, the increase in Apple Music subscription price is due to the more expensive licensing for music that will let artists and writers 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.
9to5 Mac writes that the international Apple market should also expect a proportional price hike on the previously mentioned products in effect beginning today.
In connection, 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 for a higher price.
The Price Increase Follows A Period Of Inflation
Companies from all over the world have been implementing price hikes due to the rapid inflation affecting industries, forcing them to take drastic measures to preserve customer demand.
CNBC writes that the increase in Apple's prices should be able to help the company get revenue from its growing services business.
With the hike in subscription pricing, Apple's services are now in danger of falling to competition with cheaper subscription offers.
However, Slash Gear writes that Apple claims to offer better value to their services which might make the higher fee worth it.
Apple Music for instance, despite costing more than its competition Spotify Premium, announced a free lossless audio upgrade for its entire music catalog.
With offers like this, Apple continues to be at the forefront of streaming services, reaching the 100 million songs milestone in October 2022.
Additionally, Apple Music also offers a selection of podcasts that subscribers can stream from any time, any where, Slash Gear says.
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