Spotify Rolls Out New Basic Streaming Plan for US Customers

Spotify (SPOT) launched new streaming plans for U.S. users on Friday after increasing the price of its premium plan earlier this month.

The new basic plan starts at $10.99 per month for eligible users and offers the streaming perks of the premium plan but without the monthly audiobook listening hours.

The premium plan allows users to listen to music offline and ad-free, and 15 hours of audiobooks per month.

Spotify increased the price of its premium plan in early June, the latest move to boost profits for the Swedish music streaming service.

In the United States, its strongest market for sales, the company raised prices for its personal products to $11.99 from $10.99 a month, its Duo products to $16.99 from $14.99 and its Family products to $19.99 from $16.99.

Spotify has tried to boost profits by cutting marketing spending and laying off staff after relying on promotions and big investments to boost its user base in recent months.

The audio streaming giant plans to launch a new, more expensive service for its most dedicated users later this year, Bloomberg News reported last week. The service will likely cost $5 a month more and offer better audio quality and access to new tools for creating playlists and managing song libraries.