Spotify launches family plan for up to 5 people

Spotify has announced the launch of a new "Family Plan" that will enable up to four additional family members to get a subscription at half of the usual price.

For example, if a couple wanted to do this, the first person's plan would still cost £9.99 whilst the additional person would pay £4.99 for a total of £14.99. For a family of five though things could get pretty expensive as the plan would cost £29.99 (or $29.99 for US readers) per month or roughly £360 per year.

It’s a shame that Spotify’s offering does not discount incrementally as more users are added, but it is also understandable given the licensing costs faced by the company.

In the USA, the best offer for families was that provided by the tie-up between Beats Music and AT&T which allowed up to five members to access the service for just $15 per month, as reported last week though it looks that following the Apple acquisition that partnership may be coming to an end as AT&T has stopped selling those plans as add-ons.

While some users will carry on sharing the account details with their family members, putting up with the occasional interruption as someone else legs into the system, it is good to see that Spotify has listened to those who would be willing to pay and provided a solution.


(Andrea Leonelli)