Spotify matches Apple Music with improved $15 Family plan

Looking to hold onto its dominance in the music streaming space, Spotify on Monday launched an upgraded Family plan, matching similar ones from Apple Music and Google Play.

The new Family plan covers up to six listeners with a lower flat rate, priced at $14.99 per month in the United States. It's in fact rolling out globally starting today, the one exception being Canada.

Spotify's previous Family offering — launched in 2014 — was far costlier, starting at $14.99 for two listeners and rising to $29.99 for a family of five. People on the older plans will be upgraded automatically, and should see costs drop if they have more than two family members.

Although Spotify is still well ahead of Apple in terms of listenership — with over 30 million paid subscribers versus Apple's 13 million — the company has been fortifying its service to try and hold that lead. In January, for instance, it launched streaming video on mobile. Recently it announced plans for original video content, looking to trump Apple's limited efforts in that area.

Competitive changes haven't been entirely one-sided. In May Apple matched Spotify's $4.99 student plan, and the company is rumored to be planning a major service revamp with a better interface and expanded Beats radio. Interface problems have been some of the chief complaints about Apple Music.

16 Comments

pscooter63 1072 comments · 13 Years

About 8 years ago

Spotify has recently displaced iTunes in all the local Starbucks; there's prominent marketing materials on the walls, sitting on the sugar/creamer station, etc. Hard to miss.

(iTunes/App Store freebies were pretty subtle/low key... just a 5x7 cardboard placard with a hopper filled with cards (promotional codes). The music offerings seemed consistently lame, but there were often interesting apps.)

techguy911 269 comments · 13 Years

pscooter63 said:

Spotify has recently displaced iTunes in all the local Starbucks; there's prominent marketing materials on the walls, sitting on the sugar/creamer station, etc. Hard to miss.

I wonder what Jimmy and Dre are up to these days. Hopefully not getting ready to jump ship.

foggyhill 4767 comments · 10 Years

pscooter63 said:

Spotify has recently displaced iTunes in all the local Starbucks; there's prominent marketing materials on the walls, sitting on the sugar/creamer station, etc. Hard to miss.

(iTunes/App Store freebies were pretty subtle/low key... just a 5x7 cardboard placard with a hopper filled with cards (promotional codes). The music offerings seemed consistently lame, but there were often interesting apps.)

It's also bleeding money left and right... Clock is ticking until they turn it around.

coolfactor 2332 comments · 20 Years

Canadian music industry... get your act together.

lostkiwi 640 comments · 18 Years

I hear this '30 million' subscribers about Spotify all the time in the tech press.
Has anyone been able to confirm that they are not just mostly $3 for three months specials? Or something similar?