The music industry, particularly the major music companies, has been waiting patiently for Spotify to launch a so-called ‘Supremium’ tier – a subscription offering at a significantly higher price than its standard Premium product, with additional user perks.
Well, Spotify isn’t calling its latest launch ‘Supremium’ – it’s calling it ‘Premium Platinum’ instead. But it bears all of the hallmarks of what we were expecting.
Here’s what’s happening: from today (November 13), Spotify is piloting a revamped subscription structure across five international markets, introducing three distinct Premium tiers designed “to better meet diverse user needs”.
The firm’s menu of subscription offerings for new users in these markets now includes Premium Lite, Premium Standard (including a Student version), and Premium Platinum.
The markets in question? India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates.
Although this is a pilot launch in a restricted number of territories, you could forgive the likes of Universal‘s Sir Lucian Grainge, Sony‘s Rob Stringer, and Warner‘s Robert Kyncl from seeing dollar signs.
Take India, for example:
- Earlier today, according to the market’s official Spotify site, a standard ‘Individual Premium’ subscription to Spotify in India cost ₹139 per month, equivalent to USD $1.57.
- After the new rollout, the equivalent tier – ‘Premium Standard’ – will cost 43% more, at ₹199 ($2.24) per month.
- For more price-conscious consumers, a new tier – ‘Premium Lite’ – will cost ₹139 per month (i.e. the same price as the old standard ‘Individual Premium’ offering).
- And then the big news: The ‘Premium Platinum’ tier is priced at ₹299 ($3.37) per month. That’s more than double the cost of the ‘Individual Premium’ subscription in India that was available before the switch.
What will subscribers get from ‘Premium Platinum’ they won’t on Spotify’s standard tier?
Exclusive access to Lossless audio quality, a feature Spotify notes is among the most requested by users, plus AI-powered features like AI DJ and AI Playlist, third-party DJ integration, mixing tools, and existing features including Jam and daylist.
To reiterate: the new range of Premium offerings in the five affected nations will only be available for new subscribers (for now, anyway).
“This is an evolution of our Premium subscriptions portfolio and reflects the engagement insights we’re seeing across our platform.”
Spotify statement
Spotify has confirmed that existing subscribers in the five markets will retain their current benefits and features, though they can opt to upgrade to the new plans.
The firm will continue to offer its ad-supported free tier across all five markets, with Premium Lite representing the entry-level paid subscription.
“This is an evolution of our Premium subscriptions portfolio and reflects the engagement insights we’re seeing across our platform,” Spotify stated.
“While Spotify has become even more central to people’s lives, those behaviors aren’t universal—so we’re introducing options that consistently meet more of our users’ needs, with local strategies aligned to each market.”
The pilot markets, which are all emerging streaming economies, represent regions where Spotify sees significant growth potential.
Spotify declined to comment on whether the tiered structure would be expanded to other markets, with a spokesperson stating it has “nothing further to share” beyond this five-market pilot.
Interestingly, the features that will be exclusively available on ‘Premium Platinum’ in the five affected markets are currently available to standard Premium subscribers in markets such as the US and UK.
Indeed, the pilot marks a shift in Spotify’s strategy for lossless audio – with the audio perk gated behind the highest-priced tier in the five markets affected by today’s change.
Elsewhere, lossless is being rolled out to standard Premium subscribers in over 50 markets starting in September — including the US, UK, Australia, Germany, and Japan.
Spotify’s introduction of segmented subscription tiers with a pricier top ‘VIP’ tier echoes some of what we’ve seen in China, where music streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment revealed in August that its higher-priced SVIP membership program had surpassed 15 million subscribers.
According to TME, Premium sound quality “remains the most popular SVIP membership benefit”.
TME SVIP subscribers pay approximately RMB 40 (USD $5.58) per month compared to the standard RMB 8 (USD $1.12) subscription, meaning these premium users generate five times the revenue of regular subscribers.
Comparisons can also be made to subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services such as Netflix, which offers three subscription tiers of its own – Standard with Ads; Standard; and Premium.
Most of the premium features now being locked to ‘Premium Platinum’ in India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates are new to the pilot markets, though some exceptions exist; South Africa previously had AI DJ and AI Playlist in beta for Premium subscribers, while the UAE had access to mixing tools.
In South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, eligible Premium Platinum subscribers will additionally receive audiobook access—the first time audiobooks have been available in these markets.
According to the company, engagement insights reveal that while Spotify usage is growing across markets, consumption patterns differ substantially between regions, necessitating more tailored subscription options.
Music Business Worldwide