Apple Music Just Got More Expensive — And It’s Not Alone

Apple’s price hikes are continuing, but this time they’re hitting a slightly more predictable corner of the company: its online services. None of those have been immune to the ongoing streaming price hikes over the past few years, so it’s not too surprising that we’re seeing another round.

Although Apple hasn’t raised most of its prices as frequently or rapidly as rivals like Netflix and Spotify, price bumps have come. Today, it’s Apple Music subscribers that are going to find themselves soon paying more — and having an Apple One bundle is now less likely to insulate you from these.

Here’s the rundown for pricing in the US:

1. An Apple Music Individual Plan is now $11.99, an increase of $1 per month.
2. Apple Music Family gets hit harder by jumping to $19.99 monthly — a $3 increase.
3. Students won’t be sitting this one out, either, as the Apple Music Student plan goes to $6.99, adding $1 to the previous price.
4. Apple One Family is now $27.95, up from $25.95.
5. Apple One Premier is now $39.95, up from $37.95.
   

Only the individual Apple One plan remains untouched at $19.95. The math sort of adds up, considering the Apple One Family and Premier plans each rose by $2, while the Apple Music Family plan that’s included in those rose by $3, compared to only $1 for the base Apple Music Plan. Essentially, it appears that Apple is eating the first dollar of these increases for Apple One subscribers.

In fact, Apple Music is the only streaming service that differs between the Apple One Individual and Family plans. There are no “family” plans for Apple TV and Apple Arcade, so they can be shared with up to five people even on the Apple One Individual plan, since Apple owns these services and doesn’t have to pay licensing fees or streaming royalties.

From what Apple told Music Business Worldwide, it’s those licensing costs that are driving these latest price hikes. The record labels want more money, so Apple has to raise prices to make sure it can cover that.

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Apple last raised the price of Apple Music in 2022, when it went from its 2015 launch price of $9.99 to $10.99 per month. That’s better than Spotify, which has seen three $1 price hikes over the same time period, settling at $12.99 in January. Meanwhile, a Spotify Family plan is $21.99, putting it at $2 more each month than Apple Music Family. Spotify also offers a “Duo” plan for only two users for $18.99 per month.

The only other difference between the Individual and Family Apple One plans is that the Family one offers more iCloud+ storage — 200 GB versus 50 GB on the Individual plan. However, Apple isn’t raising any iCloud prices today — at least not in the US.

Unfortunately for folks elsewhere, iCloud+ prices are going up in Nigeria, Türkiye, Vietnam, Japan, Egypt, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Customers in those countries will find themselves paying between 11% and 55% more, depending on the plan and the country, according to MacRumors. These hikes are likely the result of currency fluctuations, but we can’t rule out the possibility of these iCloud+ increases expanding beyond those countries.