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Apple Music increases subscription prices, cites “rising licensing costs”
Apple Music has raised its subscription prices with immediate effect, marking its first increase since October 2022. The company said the rise was necessary due to increasing licensing costs, bringing it in line with rivals such as Spotify, which also put up its prices at the end of 2025.
In the UK, the individual plan rises from £10.99 to £11.99 per month, while the family plan increases from £16.99 to £19.99. Similar increases apply in Europe and the US, where individual and family plans see comparable rises and student plans also go up, from $5.99 to $6.99 monthly in the US and to €6.99 in Europe. The changes come as Apple Music has also recently introduced measures to flag AI-generated music on the platform, following industry-wide concern over AI's impact on the music business.
In short
- Apple Music raises prices for the first time since 2022
- UK individual plan rises from £10.99 to £11.99 monthly
- Company blames higher music licensing costs for the hike
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Apple's price increase is justified by real economic pressures, particularly rising music licensing costs that reflect the value now demanded by rights holders in the streaming era. The adjustment aligns with industry peers and remains proportionate to inflation; fair payment to artists is essential for a healthy music ecosystem, and these price rises simply reflect the commercial reality that quality music services cannot maintain adequate royalty payments without higher revenue.
The case against
Consumers already face mounting subscription costs during a cost-of-living crisis, and whilst licensing expenses may have genuinely risen, Apple's substantial profit margins suggest the company could absorb more of these increases rather than passing them entirely to users. The synchronised timing of price hikes across the industry raises legitimate questions about whether these increases reflect unavoidable costs or rather exploit the near-essential status and high switching costs of these services.
Explained simply
Apple Music is a music streaming service owned by Apple that allows users to listen to millions of songs for a monthly fee. It is one of the leading streaming platforms alongside competitors such as Spotify and Amazon Music. Millions of people worldwide use these services as their primary way of listening to music.
Music streaming services must pay licensing fees to record labels and music publishers each time someone listens to a song. Apple Music says these costs have risen enough to require a price increase, the first since October 2022. Other major streaming services have also raised prices recently, with Spotify doing so at the end of 2025.
These price increases affect the millions of subscribers to these services, who will now pay more for access. The moves across the streaming industry suggest underlying economic pressures are affecting how music services operate and what consumers must pay.