Daniel Ek says Spotify is working on a deluxe Spotify tier, costing around $17 to $18, that has “a lot more control, a lot higher quality across the board”
Context & Ripple Effects
Spotify had already moved its US Premium price to $10.99 and was reported to be planning a higher-priced plan with better audio and library tools. Ek’s comments make that previously reported premium-plan strategy more concrete by attaching a $17–$18 price range and a broader “control” proposition.
The proposal also extends the earlier Supremium concept, which paired higher-quality audio with additional benefits. It matters because Spotify is testing whether feature differentiation can support a materially wider price ladder than a single ad-free subscription.
First-order effects
- Spotify can begin positioning a deluxe tier above its existing Premium offering, centered on higher quality and greater user control rather than simply removing ads.
- Current and prospective subscribers would face a clearer choice between the standard plan and a substantially more expensive version, though Ek did not specify a launch date or final feature set.
Second-order effects
- A deluxe option raises the risk of recent Premium price increases being viewed as a stepping stone toward further segmentation, making the boundaries between tiers critical to limiting downgrades or dissatisfaction.
- Music-streaming rivals may face pressure to clarify whether high-quality audio and advanced controls are included in core plans or reserved for premium tiers.
Third-order effects
- If premium audio and control features become reliable upgrade drivers, streaming subscriptions may shift from a largely two-tier ad-supported/ad-free model toward more finely segmented service ladders.
- The model’s durability will depend on whether added features create incremental willingness to pay rather than mostly reshuffling existing subscribers—a recurring bundle-cannibalization problem.
The trend: Streaming services are pursuing higher-value subscription tiers to grow revenue through feature differentiation as baseline ad-free plans mature.