Spotify launches new basic streaming plan in US

(Reuters) – Spotify introduced a new streaming plan for users in the United States on Friday, after raising prices for its premium plans earlier this month.

The new basic plan will start at $10.99 per month for eligible users. It will have the streaming benefits of a premium plan, but no monthly audiobook listening time.

Premium plans allow users to listen to offline ad-free music and 15 hours of audiobook listening time per month.

Spotify raised the prices for premium plans earlier in June, the latest step by the Swedish music-streaming service in its push to increase margins.

The company raised prices of its individual plan to $11.99 from $10.99 per month, duo plan to $16.99 from $14.99 and its family plan to $19.99 from $16.99 in the United States, its largest market by revenue.

Spotify has been trying to boost its margins in recent months by lowering marketing spending and through layoffs, after relying on promotions and hefty investments to drive user growth.

The audio-streaming giant is looking to introduce a new expensive plan for its most ardent users later this year, Bloomberg News reported last week, with the plan likely to cost $5 more per month for access to better audio and fresh tools for creating playlists and managing song libraries.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)