For the first time since 2022, Apple is raising prices for Apple Music – across all plans. The family plan is hit hardest, with an increase of three euros. AppleCare+ premiums are also rising.
Apple is raising prices for its music streaming service, Apple Music, in Germany – the first price increase since October 2022. The individual, family, and student subscriptions are affected. This increase is part of a series of price hikes Apple has recently implemented to increase the prices of Macs, iPads, and other products. New customers will see the new prices immediately, while existing subscribers will be notified and their subscriptions will be updated at the end of their next billing cycle.
Overview of the new prices
| Tarif | until now | now |
|---|---|---|
| Single subscription | 10,99 € | 11,99 € |
| Family subscription | 16,99 € | 19,99 € |
| Students | 5,99 € | 6,99 € |
While the individual and student subscriptions each increase by one euro, the family subscription sees the biggest increase at three euros per month – a rise of around 18 percent.
Why Apple is raising prices
Apple cites increased licensing costs as the reason for the price hike. Streaming services pass on a portion of their revenue to rights holders – record labels, music publishers, artists, and songwriters. Apple had already justified the previous price increase in October 2022 with higher expenses for music rights. The range of services remains unchanged: Apple Music continues to offer over 100 million tracks, ad-free and available for offline listening, and recently even received new features such as lyric translations. Internationally, Apple is also raising prices: In the US, an individual subscription now costs $11.99, while the family subscription increases by three dollars to $19.99.
AppleCare+ will also become more expensive
In addition to the streaming service, Apple also revised the German pricing for AppleCare+ on July 15th. For almost all iPads, the monthly coverage increases by 50 cents, while the two-year fixed-term policy generally costs ten euros more; the deductible in case of a claim remains unchanged. Conversely, the price of the fixed-term policy for some AirPods models, Beats devices, and the Apple Watch SE decreases – for example, coverage for AirPods and AirPods Pro up to the second generation now costs 29 euros instead of 35 euros.
Part of a larger price round
The price increases are part of a broader trend: Apple had already hinted at further price hikes at the end of June, after raising prices for Macs, iPads, HomePods, and Apple TV in Germany. For example, the starting price of the MacBook Neo increased by €100 to €799. Apple cited increased costs for memory chips and other components as the reason for the hardware increases – in the case of Apple Music, it's the licensing fees. In both cases, customers in Germany will pay more in the future.
What subscribers can expect
For Apple Music subscribers in Germany, the change means an increase of one to three euros per month, depending on their plan, without any change to the features offered. Those with an existing contract will be notified before the adjustment and can decide whether to cancel or switch providers until then. (Image: Apple)
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