We knew it was going to happen, but Tidal, one of the best music streaming services, has increased the price of some of its plans, including its HiFI and Family plans.
From 1 August, the cost of Tidal HiFi will increase by $1 to $11 per month in the US, and the Family Plan will go up by $2 per month to $17. The $20 per month Tidal HiFi Plus service will stay the same price, even though it's getting a massive upgrade.
Tidal will also be putting its prices up in other markets, according to Billboard, but the details haven’t been published yet. However, on the r/Tidal subreddit many subscribers have been sharing their price increase emails.
The price in mainland Europe appears to be increasing by €1 per month, so a UK hike of £1 on the standard subscription seems likely.
Tidal isn’t the only streamer to increase its prices. Apple Music, Amazon Music and Deezer have done the same in recent times, and in the US they’re all sitting at the same monthly price of $11 for an individual subscription.
Spotify hasn’t joined in just yet but it’s expected to: back in April, CEO Daniel Ek told investors that the firm also intends to raise its prices.
Why is streaming getting more expensive?
The short answer is that the costs of running services are increasing and services, or rather the services’ financial backers, want to bring in more money. As Billboard reports, subscription revenues dipped in the US in 2022: growth was down from 22.2% in 2021 to 7.2% in 2022.
The wider US recorded music industry, of which streaming now accounts for 58%, showed slowing growth too: down from 23.2% in 2021 to 6.1% in 2022.
And with Tidal in particular, the service is playing catch-up after a succession of bad years.
The Tidal brand has been majority owned by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Block since 2021, after a $306 million purchase that a US court [described] as “a terrible business decision”. The service was haemorrhaging money under its original owner, Jay-Z, who pumped in a reported $50m of his own money to try to keep it afloat.
Tidal does appear to be making some money now, though: Block reported $11m profit on $55.7m of Tidal-related revenues in its most recently published financial quarter.
