What a week! Quite the action-packed few days since the last issue.

Money Money Joel Grey, Liza Minnelli

— Spotify has finally raised the price of its premium music-streaming subscription in the U.S. to $10.99 per month — the first such price hike since the service launched in the country in 2011.

In the US, the new prices are:

Rob Abelow has a solid Twitter/X breakdown:

In 2011, Spotify launched in the US at $9.99/mo. They just made the 1st price raise to $10.99.

These 13 stats put music's price in perspective.

Spotify also delivered strong numbers for the second quarter of 2023 — beating forecast user growth on paid subscribers and total listeners, while Q2 revenue was in-line with expectations.

Spotify totaled 10 million new Premium customers in the quarter, to stand at 220 million. Overall, Spotify had 551 million monthly active users for the period, a pickup of 36 million sequentially — an all-time high for the company.

— As publisher of the world’s grandest Spotify newsletter, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the new, Taylor Swift interactive experience.

Fans can access Spotify’s new “My Top 5: Taylor Swift’s Eras” feature.

Scan the QR code and, while on the mobile Spotify app, tap through all ten of Swift’s albums, choosing their five personal favorites from the following: her self-titled debut (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017), Lover (2019), Folklore (2020), Evermore (2021) and Midnights (2022).

Users can re-order their Top 5 into a ranked list, which Spotify will then turn into a share-able graphic.

My Friday night just got a lot more awesome sauce.

The interactive experience also sorts through users’ listening activity to reveal their most-streamed Swift eras.

My TS listening activity remains a solid 0.

We’re all entitled to an opinion, so here’s mine: I don’t get it.

I am amazed by her popularity, success, business skills and ability to produce such an earth-shattering tour around the globe. I’m honest when I say it’s extremely impressive.

But her music is so perfectly mediocre. Not bad, not great. It’s insanely popular, so clearly I’m in the musical minority for all things TS.

I’m over here screaming to anyone within earshot that the last two Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats’ albums are among the greatest recordings of the last 20 years - maybe ever! - and meanwhile, the world seems to be enraptured with Swift-mania. They got no time for Nathaniel.

I’ll cop to humming along to ‘Shake It Off’ when I hear it in the background somewhere. It’s catchy!

But for all the thousands of TS concert clips I scooted past on social media, I didn’t spark to any of the tunes. Nothing really hit me like it did the tens of thousands of fans jam-packed into stadiums coast to coast, experiencing an aural nirvana that I clearly am not able to attain. That’s on me.

Congrats to Ms. Swift. It’s been a sensational year and she deserves all the accolades.

Meanwhile:

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Artist

★In the SPOTlight★

⭐️ Spotify Finally Raises U.S. Premium Subscription Prices

As expected, Spotify has finally raised the price of its premium music-streaming subscription in the U.S. to $10.99 per month — the first such price hike since the service launched in the country in 2011.

The move comes only after months of pressure from the music industry and musicians — and seeing each of its competitors raise prices to a similar degree. On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that such a move was imminent.

⭐️ Spotify Hits Record 551M Active Users Amid Growing Expenses

Spotify reported 551 monthly active users in its second quarter, adding 36 million from the previous quarter and hitting an all-time high for the company. 

Additionally, the music giant added 10 million paid subscribers, three million above its guidance forecast and a record for the second quarter, to reach 220 million.

⭐️ Spotify CEO teases potential AI-powered capabilities surrounding personalization, ads

“DJ is a phenomenal product,” Ek said during the call. “It’s probably one of my personal favorites over the last few years that we have developed, and we’ve seen really strong consumer interactions with that. And that just talks about the ability for us to contextualize and personalize all the amazing content that we are have on the Spotify platform.

So I think you’re going to see a lot more of that where we can contextualize and personalize content across the entire platform to make it more accessible.”

⭐️ Daniel Ek talks AI, artist-centric, TikTok Music and how price hikes are now part of Spotify’s ‘toolbox’

Ek said Spotify now has three avenues for growing revenue, one being to grow the number of consumers using the platform, which he called the “preferred” way, and another being through the development of new verticals or new products (think podcasts, video or audiobooks).

“But when user growth… slows down – take Sweden as a great example, where we’re already at a massive part of the population there – then price increases become [an] even more important tool in the toolbox,” Ek said.

🗣 Podcast Action 🗣

• Yellow Bird U.K., Producers of Spotify Drama ‘The Playlist,’ Shuts Down After Six Years

• Spotify Eyes Younger-Skewing Podcasts As CEO Gives Shout-Out To ‘Call Her Daddy’, Mum On Archewell

🎧 The Playlist List 🎧

• What is Spotify's most followed playlist in 2023?

• Tracks From ‘Barbie’ are Soaring on Spotify Charts

🎼 Spotify 4 Artists 🎼

• Spotify Discovery Mode: The Ultimate Guide For 2023

• Spotify expands analytics to give 'a 360-degree view of your audience'

💡 Tips & Tricks 💡

• The 10 most common Spotify problems with simple fixes

• How To Generate Your Spotify Top Ten With N-Gen Art

🤖 Spot(ai)fy 🤖

• Grimes on AI and streaming: Spotify should create an 'AI section'

⚡️ Ek Notes ⚡️

• Spotify CFO Hints at More Layoffs in Earnings Call

• Daniel Ek sells $100m worth of Spotify shares

• Spotify CEO says a HiFi option ‘has value,’ but only for ‘aficionados’

🖌 Design Notes 🖌

• Swifties Can Now Show Off Their Top 5 Taylor Swift Eras With Spotify Interactive Experience

• Spotify is rolling out shared volume control for group sessions

💰 Spotify Stock 💰

• Spotify reports strong user growth as it is raising subscription price

🔥 Extra News 🔥

• Spotify now has 220 million paying subscribers

• Spotify Connect is the reason I won't switch to another music platform

• Spotify price rise reaction – and possible consequences

🎵 New Adventures 🎵

Hacienda Motel Pickwick

Power of My Love Elvis Presley

All This I Should Have Known Breathe

mahalia Son Little

Streets of Your Town The Go-Betweens

I Read a Lot Nick Lowe

Turned Up Too Late The Pointer Sisters

Love Lives Here Faces

Taper Jean Girl Kings of Leon

Mirror Song Live

Sinéad O’Connor, acclaimed Dublin singer, dies aged 56. The Irish musician found worldwide fame with hit single Nothing Compares 2 U in 1990.

The Emperor's New Clothes Sinéad O'Connor

Just Like U Said It Would B Sinéad O'Connor

Randy Meisner, a founding member of The Eagles, has died. The bassist and singer, who co-wrote and sang "Take It to the Limit," was 77.

Never Been In Love Randy Meisner

Please Be with Me Randy Meisner

📧 Get in touch 📧

If you have a question, idea, request, or simply a desire to chat about Spotify, please email me at jeff.spotifynewsletter@gmail.com.

😀 Have a Nice Weekend! 😀