Apple Music Subscription Price in India Hiked

Apple has hiked the subscription price for its Apple Music service in India. Launched in India in 2015, Apple's music streaming service will now cost users as much as Spotify Premium's monthly price. The new price has been reflected in the app and the Apple website, where new users can sign up for the service.

New Apple Music subscription price

New users subscribing to Apple Music will now shell out ₹119 per month, representing a hike of roughly 20.20 per cent from the previous fee of ₹99. With the new price hike – spotted by Republic Tech first, Apple has reverted to Apple Music's original subscription cost when it arrived in India.

The Apple Music Family plan is also costlier now with a revised price of ₹179 monthly, up from ₹149. However, it is still cheaper than the original price of ₹190 when the service debuted in India.

Apple Music vs Spotify

Apple, however, has not changed the services for Apple Music users, who will continue to have access to high-quality lossless (Hi-Res Lossless), Lossless, and Dolby Atmos-optimised music on the platform. The price hike also puts Apple in a better position for head-on competition with Spotify, which enjoys the largest user base in the world owing to its freemium model, but more than that, it will allow Apple to expand its revenue from India -- a price-sensitive market where online music streaming industry boomed only a few years back.

According to a report by RedSeer, Spotify captured a 26 per cent market share in India's music and audio streaming market last year, with over 3 million paid users. On the other hand, Apple Music had about 200,000 paid users in the country.

Spotify Premium subscription was launched in India for ₹119 for individuals, offering them high-quality music without advertisements. However, it lacks additional features such as Dolby Atmos and a lossless tier. In 2021, Spotify announced a new tier called Hi-Fi, but it has yet to arrive.