Why Is Spotify So Expensive? (Top 7 Reasons)

Have you heard of Spotify?

Well,  Spotify is a digital video, podcast, and music platform that gives users access to millions of songs and playlists all over the world.

Spotify was launched in 2008  by a Swedish-based company to people in a genre of music.

It allows its subscribers to share, create and add favorites to the app.

It has both a paid and free version.

The free version has limitations since you can’t do much apart from listening to the music.

But for the paid option, you can download content and do other things freely.

Designing the app, hiring the tech team, and licensing play a huge role in Spotify’s high prices.

When the company puts these factors in place, the price tags of the subscriptions will hike.

However, apart from these reasons, we have chosen the top 7reasons that make Spotify costly.

Why is Spotify so expensive?

Without a doubt, the Spotify service is costly.

But just like any other service, some reasons influence the high prices.

Here are the top 7 reasons why Spotify is expensive.

Hiring the technical team

When you want to start your music app, you will have to hire a technical team to develop the browser.

However, the rates vary from where you live. Some are expensive, while others are cost-effective.

You will have to part with a lot of money to pay their wages by hiring this team.

So Spotify will pass this cost to the subscribers, making it so expensive.

Designing the application

After hiring a team of experienced technicians, you will design your project wireframes.

You also have to ensure that the app is easy to use, navigate, and functional.

So you will go for experts who are well knowledgeable in that field who will charge more for their servings.

There are a lot of workloads involved, so when you sum up these costs, it will make your app too costly.

Licencing

It is mandatory for any genuine app management to get licensed.

No one will allow you to use someone’s music or composition without being licensed.

You should consider the music copyrights and legal procedures.

Otherwise, you may find yourself on the wrong side of the law.

Also, you will have to pay for the public performance rights.

After paying, you will now be allowed to provide quality content and music for your users.

In addition, you will also be required to share royalties with the artist for using their content.

So when you look at all these reasons, the Spotify management will have to charge more.

It will help them to recover the funds used to pay for the licenses.

Adding features to the app

It is important to add features when developing an app.

It is one of the factors that make Spotify costly.

Some of the most vital features that you must include in-app as Spotify include:

1. Profile creation
2. Registration
3. In-app messages
4. Discovering and searching for music
5. Share buttons for friends
6. Online and offline music access
7. In-app messaging
8. Playlist creation
9. Notifications

Creating features requires qualified personnel.

So Spotify will have to part with a lump sum of money to pay them.

It will make the app to be expensive.

Research and planning

Before Spotify developed its app, they first had to do research on their competitors.

They also research their target audience, age, likes and dislikes, etc. 

All these factors are necessary for planning on their app.

The management also needs to do surveys on the equally expensive target audience.

So it ends up affecting the ultimate price of the app.

Deciding the type of app you want

Before coming with their browser, Spotify had to decide the type they needed.

They have to sit with developers to decide on the best one to meet their needs and budget.

A good app will cost more, so they pass the premium costs to their consumers.

Choosing a platform

Choosing a platform is another factor that makes Spotify be premium.

The type of platform affects the development budget.

Spotify increases its subscription fees to be able to meet its expenses and also make a profit.

Is Spotify worth it?

If Spotify is worth it or not depends on the users’ experience.

If you subscribe to a free plan, you may not find it worthwhile since there are many interruptions with the ads.

However, if you have no problem with its interface, music and discoveries are great.

However, for premium plans, users get to experience extra features, and also there are no ads.

Premium also unlocks mobile use so you can play any song like you’d play them using your laptop.

You can also download music.

So it depends on the user perspective, but generally, Spotify is worth the money.

Why is Spotify more expensive than Netflix?

Spotify offers a variety of subscription plans and often updates its prices.

It enables them to meet the local economic needs.

Also, they meet market demand offering exceptional services.

Again, both Netflix and Spotify have a lot of business costs every month.

They have to pay wages, web maintenance equipment, and other costs.

Netflix has more customers than Spotify, so they can meet all their expenses and make tons of profits.

So they keep their prices a bit lower.

As we have mentioned above, Spotify has fewer customers compared to Netflix.

So they have to hike their prices to pay all their expenses and still make some profit.

How to save money on Spotify premium

Despite Spotify’s premium app being so expensive, you can still save money on it.

Below are some tricks you can apply and find yourself saving some dollars.

Get a family plan. If you have a large family, you can take a  Spotify family plan subscription.

It covers up to six members, and you pay only $15 a month, which is very cheap compared to paying per person.

The good thing with this plan is that each member has their password, settings, and access to Spotify.

Also, you won’t lose your Spotify account.

You can decide to cost-share with your neighbors. It is because Spotify does not verify if the people listed in the plan are actually members. , so as long as people pay their share, you can have access to this plan.

Use student Spotify plan.

If you are a college student and own a laptop or tablet, you can access Spotify premium at only $5 per month.

However,  you have to verify that you are indeed a student.

You are supposed to sign in using your valid student email address.

This student plan also gives you access to show time and an ad-supported Hulu account.

It also covers the summer interim classes as long as you are an active student.

But if you quit or graduate school, you can no longer be eligible for this plan.

Here, you will save yourself a lot of money.

Through AT and T And more unlimited plans. To use this plan, you are required to register through the AT and T website.

When you become their subscriber, you are eligible for free Spotify premium subscription.

Through Chase credit card. If you have a Chase credit card, you can apply for Spotify’s premium subscription of $5 per month.

The offer lasts for only six months, and you will have to activate the chase discounts landing page. Starbucks workers

If you work for Starbucks, you qualify for the free premium Spotify subscription. They give all their employees a free premium Spotify subscription.

You can activate through the Starbucks partners’ hub.

Also, you can call Spotify customer care for guidance in case you get stuck.

Spotify alternatives

Despite Spotify being a reputable app, its competitors have indeed increased.

So if you find the company expensive, you can choose its alternatives.

Below are the top 10 Spotify options.

1. Pandora’s radio
2. Deezer
3. YouTube music
4. Amazon prime music
5. Sound cloud
6. Apple Music
7. Save
8. Tidal
9. LiveXlive
10. Netflix

As we come to the end of this article, it is easy to understand why Spotify is so expensive.

Conclusion

They have monthly expenses to pay each month, so they have to hike their prices to pay them and make profits.

Spotify has continued to get more customers despite its outrageous subscription fees.

Their avid subscribers are always willing to pay a high subscription to access the app.