Spotify (SPOT) could soon be getting more expensive.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Spotify plans to increase the price of its ad-free premium subscription plan by $1 in the US to $10.99 a month — a long-awaited change as the company continues its profitability push.
The price change will only affect the premium tier. Price increases in dozens of other markets will roll out "in the coming months," the report added.
Shares initially spiked on the report but have since leveled out, trading flat in after-hours on Friday. The company did not immediately respond to Yahoo Finance's request for comment.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek previously said he was taking "a balanced portfolio approach" when it comes to the company's pricing strategy.
But analysts had largely expected the streamer to announce higher prices at some point, especially after recent hikes at Apple Music (AAPL), Amazon Music (AMZN), and most recently YouTube Music (GOOGL).
On Thursday, YouTube raised the prices of both its ad-free YouTube Premium plan and YouTube Music Premium plan to $13.99 per month and $10.99 per month, respectively.
Members who subscribed five or more years ago are able to keep their current plans for another three months before switching over to the new prices.
YouTube Premium previously cost $11.99 while YouTube Music Premium was $9.99. It was the first price increase for US subscribers since YouTube Premium's 2018 launch.
Spotify is set to report quarterly earnings on Tuesday after the music streamer reported 515 million monthly active users in Q1 — the company's largest-ever first quarter growth of the metric.
It is widely expected the company will reveal the price hike at the time of that quarterly earnings announcement next week.
Analysts, overall, have been bullish on Spotify after the audio giant pledged to improve its profitability rates beginning in 2023 on a gross margin and operating income basis.
The company, which categorized 2022 as a peak investment year, spent $1 billion pushing into the podcast market over the past four years with splashy A-list deals and $400 million-plus studio acquisitions.
That spending took a significant bite out of gross margins and weighed heavily on profitability. Investors punished the company as a result, and the stock was down a whopping 70% in 2022.
Flash forward to today, however, and the company seems to be fulfilling that profitability promise. In addition to the reported price increases, Spotify has committed to various cost-cutting initiatives over the past year, which have included layoffs and a realignment of its podcast division.
Last month, Spotify announced a weekly podcast deal with comedian Trevor Noah, days after the company said it was parting ways with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The audio giant also announced it would be eliminating 200 jobs, or 2% of its workforce, within its podcast unit. The company cut 6% of its workforce, or about 600 employees, earlier this year.
The stock, which lost more than two-thirds of its value in 2022, is up more than 115% year to date and up about 50% on a year-over-year basis. Still, shares remain more than 50% below their record close of $364.59 in February 2021.
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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