Apple Hikes Price Of Apple Music, Apple TV+

Apple has quietly raised the subscription costs of its Apple Music and Apple TV+ plans, as well as the Apple One bundle in a number of countries, including the US and UK.

It is the first time that Apple has raised the prices of these respective services, and comes after Apple in drastically raised the prices (outside of the US that is) for the bulk of its iPhone and iPad models, even when the models have not actually changed or upgraded in any way.

Apple’s prices increases comes as its streaming rivals such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus and Hulu have all either raised their service prices, or plan to do so.

Price increases

So how much will Apple’s services now cost?

Apple Music has seen its price rise by $1 to $10.99 a month (or $2 extra per month for its family plan which now costs $16.99 pm).

Apple blamed “an increase in licensing costs”, and reportedly said artists and songwriters would make more money as a result.

Apple TV+ has also increased by $2 per month to $6.99 a month (its annual plan meanwhile has risen by $20 per month to $69 per year).

The price rise for its Netflix competitor is apparently down to the fact that Apple TV+ now has more content.

The cost of an Apple One bundle, which is Apple’s all-access pass to its music, TV, Arcade (its gaming service), cloud, news and fitness offerings, has risen $2 to $14.95 a month.

The family plan risen $3 per month to $22.95 per month.

“The subscription prices for Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple One will increase beginning today,” Apple was quoted as saying in a statement to 9to5Mac.

“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,” it added.

“We also continue to add innovative features that make Apple Music the world’s best listening experience,” it added.

“We introduced Apple TV+ at a very low price because we started with just a few shows and movies,” it said. “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.”

For UK users, the monthly cost of Apple Music will now be £10.99 (up £1).

Meanwhile one month of Apple TV+ will be £6.99 (up £2) and one month of Apple One is now £16.95 (up £2).

Rival moves

Apple’s price increases come as consumers around the world struggle to contend with rising interest rates and inflation, which is putting more pressure on household budgets and consumer spending.

Amazon in February lifted the price of a US Prime subscription by $20 to $139, citing higher wage and transportation costs.

Amazon announced similar price rises in the summer for UK users, with Amazon Prime rising from £7.99 per month or £79 for a year’s subscription, by £1 to £8.99 per month from 15 September.

The annual membership also rose 20 percent (or £16) to £95 per annum, from that date.

Netflix also earlier this year raised prices in the US, as well as for British and Irish users.

Disney Plus has announced it will raise the cost of its ad-free service from $7.99 to $10.99 a month, and Hulu also recently lifted prices.