Skip to content
  • About us
  • Music
  • Celebrities
  • TV and Movies
  • Fashion
  • Entertaiment
  • Life Style
  • Travel and Health
Style Focus

Style Focus

  • About us
  • Music
  • Celebrities
  • TV and Movies
  • Fashion
  • Entertaiment
  • Life Style
  • Travel and Health
  • Toggle search form
  • Celine Dion Reveals How Her Iconic Wedding Headpiece Sent Her to the Doctor Uncategorised
  • ‘Rigorous’ law firm to lead Wallace probe – MasterChef producers Uncategorised
  • France and Australia confirm participation at Eurovision 2026 Uncategorised
  • New music this week: Songs from Joost Klein, LADANIVA, Barbara Pravi and more Uncategorised
  • New music this week: Songs from Remo Forrer, Damiano David, Sudden Lights and more Uncategorised
  • Influencer says she ‘wasn’t ready’ to lead after backlash Uncategorised
  • My greatest dream come true’: Taylor Swift buys back rights to first six albums Uncategorised
  • EuroStarz in Concert returns to The Water Rats in London on September 9 Uncategorised

As streaming subscriptions stall, are price rises inevitable?

Posted on 27 March 2025 By Admin No Comments on As streaming subscriptions stall, are price rises inevitable?

As streaming subscriptions stall, are price rises inevitable?

Taylot Swift glances to her right while posing on a red carpet at the 2024 MTV Awards
Taylor Swift was the most-streamed artist in the world last year

After years of explosive growth, the music streaming market in the UK is levelling out, new research suggests.

Almost half the population, 32.4 million people, has now signed up to apps like Spotify and Apple Music, according to music industry analysts MIDiA Research.

That’s vastly more than the 20 million who pay for video streaming, but the number of new subscribers is tailing off. About 1.25 million new customers took out a plan last year, said MIDiA, representing growth of 4%. In 2020, that figure was 9%.

MIDiA says the slowdown will lead to higher prices. “If you’re not growing users, what do you do? You get them to pay more,” said the company’s managing director, Mark Mulligan.

Spotify has already bumped up the price of its premium plan in the UK. After years of being held at £9.99, it increased to £10.99 in summer 2024, and £11.99 last May.

The Swedish company is also reported to be introducing a new high-fidelity streaming option this year, which could cost an extra £5 a month.

Amazon Music, which is the UK’s second-biggest streaming platform, also increased its prices in January.

Mulligan said that was just the beginning.

“Over the course of the coming years, expect a continued and concerted effort from the music industry, of finding new ways to get subscribers to pay more money.”

Sony Music’s president of global digital business, Dennis Cooker, argues that such increases are vital.

“Spotify has publicly commented that their intention is to launch a higher price tier. I’m relying on that, and assuming that that is going to happen,” he said at an event held by the recording industry organisation the IFPI last week.

According to MIDiA, one alternative would be the introduction of “a really cheap, entry level” subscription to attract new users; but Cooker rejected that idea.

“We’ve really tried with mid-price tiers and, frankly, struggled to get them to work,” he said.

Users who don’t want to pay can already access a “pretty robust” offering on ad-supported services like YouTube; while a monthly subscription offers millions of songs to everyone.

“Finding something in the middle that you can actually explain to consumers and that is different than what’s already on offer has been really, really challenging,” he explained.

Outside of the UK, MIDiA’s latest report showed that the number of people subscribing to music streaming services grew by 11.6% year-on-year.

Most of the growth came from emerging markets in Africa and India. China also extended its lead as the world’s biggest streaming market, with 190 million subscribers.

Mulligan predicted that the growth of streaming services outside Europe and America could change the way we listen to music.

“We’ll see a cultural shift where these massive installed bases of streaming users in the global south will shape listening habits in the west.

“As they become bigger markets, more people [in those countries] will want to become artists, and more people will want to set up record labels.

“So more music will be made, more music will be exported, and there’ll be a sort of cultural rebalancing.”

Burna Boy performs against a rainbow-coloured backdrop
Afrobeats star Burna Boy led a new wave of globally-successful music from Africa

The change has already begun. According to the IFPI, Sub-Saharan Africa was the world’s fastest-growing music market last year, with revenues surpassing $100 million (£770,000) for the first time.

Genres like Afrobeats and Amapiano are already hugely popular and, last year, Nigerian star Burna Boy became the first African artist to headline a stadium show in the UK.

South Korea is also a powerhouse – accounting for 45% of all physical albums sold in the last year – while Latin America boasts some of the world’s biggest recording artists, including Bad Bunny, Karol G and Peso Pluma.

As a result, the UK’s historic musical dominance is waning.

Last year, British musicians failed to appear in the Top 10 of the world’s bestselling singles or albums, for the first time in two decades.

“In basic terms, the democratisation of music that we’ve seen, thanks to streaming, is wonderful – but it’s a very crowded space,” Victoria Oakley, head of the IFPI, told BBC News.

“The UK is seeing breakthrough artists like Myles Smith and Lola Young,” she added, “but that journey is rarely about overnight success these days.

“It can take five or six or seven years to get to the point where you’re a big household name, winning awards and number one albums.

“So the work is going on behind the scenes. It just requires more navigation than before.”

Adblock test (Why?)

Uncategorised

Post navigation

Previous Post: Former “The Voice Romania” contestant NANAVA releases her 6th single “CHANEL” – a song about love that was not the last in life, but will remain in memory forever
Next Post: The largest conference in the field of info business took place in Kyiv

Related Posts

  • Eurovision 2026: Which EBU broadcasters will vote on Israel’s participation? Uncategorised
  • New music this week: Songs from NAPA, EMMY, Mamagama and more Uncategorised
  • Charlize Theron’s Daughter August Makes Rare Public Appearance With Mom at Fashion Show Uncategorised
  • Mum pays tribute to ‘funny and kind’ Gogglebox star Uncategorised
  • Rebel Wilson book delayed in UK and Australia Uncategorised
  • Sheridan Smith: ‘I lost confidence but it’s come back’ Uncategorised

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Man guilty of stalking TV presenter Myleene Klass
  • Germany: Chancellor Friedrich Merz says he’d support Eurovision withdrawal if Israel is excluded
  • Queen leads tributes to ‘wonderfully witty friend’ Dame Jilly Cooper
  • First celebrity leaves Strictly after dance-off
  • New music this week: Songs from KEiiNO, Lord Of The Lost, The Black Mamba and more

Recent Comments

No comments to show.

Archives

  • October 2025
  • September 2025
  • August 2025
  • July 2025
  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • March 2022
  • November 2008

Categories

  • announcements
  • Events
  • Fashion
  • music
  • Persons
  • Uncategorised
  • Music that penetrates the soul: the premiere of "The Source of Hope" by SVOYA
    Music that penetrates the soul: the premiere of “The Source of Hope” by Marichka Bodnar SVOYA music music
  • Five charged in connection with Liam Payne’s death, reports say Uncategorised
  • Anna Foster replaces Husain on Radio 4’s Today Uncategorised
  • Laura Linney Stunned as She Witnesses Man Assaulted Outside NYFW Show Uncategorised
  • British author Samantha Harvey wins Booker with space story Uncategorised
  • ANGELA - "Cold City": an emotional video about heavy feelings from the main singing beauty of the country
    ANGELA – “Cold City”: an emotional video about heavy feelings from the main singing beauty of the country Uncategorised
  • Actor says Trump ‘should be grateful’ for controversial film Uncategorised
  • New music this week: Songs from Joker Out, Justyna Steczkowska, Cláudia Pascoal and more Uncategorised

Copyright © Style Focus

Powered by PressBook News WordPress theme