The company stated that this adjustment is essential to facilitate ongoing innovations in its product offerings and to improve the overall user experience.
Spotify informed its subscribers of the change through an email, which read, “Thank you for being a Premium subscriber. As of your billing date on November 24, 2024, your subscription price will change from NGN 900.00/month to NGN 1,300.00/month. We’re increasing the price of Premium Individual so we can continue to innovate on our product offerings and features and bring you the best experience.”
In July 2024, Netflix also raised its Premium Plan subscription by 40%, increasing it from N5,000 to N7,000 per month. This followed an earlier adjustment in April, where the Premium Plan was raised from N4,400 to N5,000, and the Standard Plan from N3,600 to N4,000.
Netflix indicated that these price increases are part of its strategy to enhance revenue and maintain a competitive position in Nigeria's rapidly expanding market.
In a similar vein, Elon Musk’s Starlink has announced a staggering 97% increase in its monthly subscription fee in Nigeria, from N38,000 to N75,000.
Furthermore, the cost of Starlink kits for new users has risen by 34%, from N440,000 to N590,000. The company attributed this increase to “excessive inflation,” marking the second adjustment in subscription fees in Nigeria, following previous fluctuations in hardware costs.
Additionally, ride-hailing service Uber has informed its drivers of a 13% fare increase to mitigate the effects of the recent fuel price hike in Nigeria.
The recent surge in subscription fees from platforms like Spotify, Netflix, Starlink, and others coincides with persistent inflation in Nigeria, where consumers are facing escalating prices for essential goods and services.
Entertainment and internet services, which were once accessible to many, are increasingly becoming unaffordable for households. Additionally, Multichoice, a prominent pay-TV provider in Nigeria, has enacted its third price hike in the last year, leading to dissatisfaction among its subscribers.
These changes are indicative of wider patterns in the global streaming and internet service sectors, as companies like Netflix and Starlink adjust their prices in key markets to enhance their content offerings and sustain profitability in the face of intensifying competition and economic pressures.