Spotify is promising that its French subscribers will soon pay the highest streaming prices in the entire EU as part of its battle against the new French streaming levy, which will also apply to rivals such as Deezer, Apple Music and YouTube Music. The levy came into effect in January and is designed to help up and coming musicians and the French music sector generally.
So far Spotify is the only one of the best music streaming services promising a price hike, and so far it hasn't said how much the hike will be. But given the tone of its communications so far, it seems highly unlikely that we're talking a few cents. According to Spotify's blog post, the new 1.2% levy – roughly 13 cents on Spotify's €11.99 per month – is "a massive amount" that Spotify "can't absorb".
