Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., smiles while speaking about Apple TV+ during an event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple on Monday increased monthly and annual subscription prices in the U.S. for its streaming services Apple TV+ and Apple Music. It also raised prices for Apple One, its bundle.
Now, a monthly individual subscription to Apple Music costs $10.99, versus the previous price of $9.99. Competitor Spotify currently starts at $9.99 a month.
Access to Apple TV+ costs $6.99 per month, more than the previous price of $4.99 per month. Apple TV+ has been competitively priced against other streaming services, some of which have also raised prices in recent months. It also has a smaller library of content. Competitor Disney+ starts at $7.99 a month while Netflix starts at $9.99 a month but has an ad-supported service at $6.99 a month in the works.
Apple also raised annual subscription prices for those services, and raised the entry-level cost for Apple One, which adds storage and the Arcade gaming service, from $14.95 to $16.95.
International markets and some other bundles will see similar price increases.
The price hikes come during a period of rapid inflation around the world that is forcing businesses to raise prices while still attempting to preserve consumer demand.
The increases could also bolster the revenue from Apple’s rapidly growing services business, which reported $16.9 billion in sales during the June quarter.
But Apple also warned that the services business growth would slow in the September quarter, partially because of a strong dollar.
Apple Music and Apple TV+ are a small part of Apple’s services business, which also includes search licensing fees, hardware warranties, App Store sales, and other businesses.
“The change to Apple Music is due to an increase in licensing costs, and in turn, artists and songwriters will earn more for the streaming of their music,” said Apple in a statement. “We also continue to add innovative features that make Apple Music the world’s best listening experience. We introduced Apple TV+ at a very low price because we started with just a few shows and movies. Three years later, Apple TV+ is home to an extensive selection of award-winning and broadly acclaimed series, feature films, documentaries, and kids and family entertainment from the world’s most creative storytellers.”
