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.