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Spotify’s $10.99 ‘Basic’ plan drops the audiobooks

Spotify’s $10.99 ‘Basic’ plan drops the audiobooks

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Spotify just raised prices, but there’s a new, cheaper tier for ad-free music.

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An illustration of Spotify’s logo.
Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge

Spotify just announced that it would beincreasing prices in the US,but on Friday, it announceda new Basic planthat brings back a $10.99 per month tier. This new offering gives you the same ad-free music listening perks you’d get on the $11.99 Premium Individual tier, but you won’t get the 15 monthly hours of audiobook listening that’s also included with Premium.

Last year, Spotify bumped up the cost of Premium from $9.99 per month — the price the service launched at in the US more than a decade ago —to $10.99 per month.Now that Premium costs an extra dollar beyond that, the new Basic plan seems to indicate that Spotify sees demand for a cheaper option that drops audiobooks. It also creates a music-only offering that’s the same price as the $10.99 per month plans forApple MusicandTidal.

Spotify also has a $9.99 per monthAudiobooks Access Tierthat gives you 15 hours of monthly audiobook time, but if you want to listen to music on that plan, you’ll have to hear ads.