At a Glance
- Spotify Premium jumps to $12.99 in its third increase since 2023
- AI-generated tracks like Sienna Rose rack up millions of streams
- Bandcamp bans AI music while Spotify stays vague on policy
- Why it matters: Cheaper, AI-free Apple Music now offers 100 million songs
Spotify’s U.S. Premium plan will cost $12.99-a $3 climb in two years-while the platform faces mounting criticism over AI-generated music that users say clutters once-curated playlists.
Price Hikes Stack Up
The latest bump lifts the monthly fee from $11.99 to $12.99, the service’s first change since 2011. The moves break a decade-long freeze:
- July 2023: $9.99 → $10.99
- July 2024: $10.99 → $11.99
- Today: $11.99 → $12.99
Natalie A. Brooks noted the hikes arrive at a moment when Spotify’s catalog is increasingly padded with machine-made tracks. “Easy things have a bad habit of becoming hard,” the writer said, contrasting today’s catalog with the simpler, piracy-free promise that originally lured subscribers.
AI Slop Creeps Into Playlists
Reddit threads catalog complaints about AI compositions slipping into personalized mixes. The most visible example is Sienna Rose, an anonymous neo-soul act with 2.9 million monthly listeners-numbers that caught even Selena Gomez’s eye before the pop star deleted her Instagram shout-out.
Rolling Stone’s investigation concluded the artist is synthetic, yet the profile remains live. Spotify’s public stance is murky; a recent TechRadar quote had the firm saying, “it’s not always possible to draw a simple line between ‘AI’ and ‘non-AI’ music.”
Platform Policies Compared
| Platform | AI Music Rule |
|---|---|
| Bandcamp | Bans works made “wholly or in substantial part” |
| Spotify | No blanket ban; focuses only on deepfakes |
| Apple Music | No equivalent AI-slop controversy reported |
Competitive Heat Rises
Apple Music charges $10.99–$2 less than Spotify-and offers the same 100 million-song tally. The gap, once a rounding error, now equals a fast-food lunch every month.
Unlike Netflix or Hulu, Spotify lacks exclusive shows that lock viewers in. Catalog parity with Apple removes the last major switching cost for frustrated customers.
The Ex-Car Thing Factor
The News Of Fort Worth writer invoked the now-discontinued Car Thing as shorthand for Spotify’s pattern of launching hardware or features only to sunset them, leaving early adopters with expensive paperweights. “Yeah, me neither,” the piece quipped, signaling eroding consumer trust.
What Happens Next
Spotify’s dual pressures-rising fees and AI backlash-arrive as Apple Music gains market share. The writer closed with a warning: “Nothing in the tech world is set in stone; just ask Blackberry or Skype.”
For subscribers, the math is simple: pay more or jump ship to a cheaper rival that, for now, avoids AI slop.
