Apple Music Price Increase Hits All Tiers: What You'll Pay Now
The latest Apple Music price increase raises the monthly cost across every subscription tier, the streaming service's first price adjustment since late 2022. The Individual plan now runs $11.99 per month, up from $10.99, while the Family plan jumped by $3 to $19.99 monthly.
The changes took effect July 17 across the United States and other international markets, according to Apple's official pricing page. The Student plan also saw a $1 increase, now priced at $6.99 per month, a tier that still includes Apple TV+ at no extra charge. Apple attributed the hikes to higher licensing costs paid to music labels and publishers.
Subscribers currently on an active plan will see the new price apply at their next billing cycle rather than immediately. New customers can still take advantage of a one-month free trial, and those who purchase an eligible Apple audio device qualify for a three-month trial.
The family plan, which covers up to six people through Apple's Family Sharing feature, saw the steepest increase in dollar terms. At $19.99 per month, it runs $3 more than the previous $16.99 rate, bringing the annual cost for a family subscription to roughly $240.
The bundled Apple One subscriptions also went up for the Family and Premier tiers. Apple One Family now costs $27.95 per month, up from $25.95, and Apple One Premier rose to $39.95 per month, up from $37.95. The individual Apple One plan held at $19.95 monthly.
This Apple Music price increase is the first time the service has raised its rates since October 2022, when the Individual plan went from $9.99 to $10.99. At its original 2015 launch, Apple Music cost $9.99 per month for individual access. The service has since added spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, lossless streaming, and a catalog of over 100 million songs without any change to what subscribers get for the higher price.
Apple is not alone in adjusting its music streaming fees. Competitors have also moved prices upward in recent years amid increasing royalty costs and negotiations with record labels. The timing of this Apple Music price increase aligns with a broader industry pattern where streaming platforms pass along higher content acquisition costs to subscribers.
Why this matters
This Apple Music price increase signals that music streaming costs are trending upward industry-wide as licensing negotiations grow more expensive. For the roughly 60 million Apple Music subscribers in the US, the change means an extra $12 to $36 per year depending on their plan. The family tier takes the biggest hit, making Apple's shared subscription less of a bargain than it was before the hike.
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