YouTube announced a 54% price hike for its Premium subscription in Nigeria, sparking a wave of questions among users in the country.
According to an email sent to subscribers in Nigeria, the price of an individual subscription to YouTube Premium, which is ad-free, has increased to N1,700 per month, up from N1,100. The price of the family subscription has also been increased by more than 64%, to N2,800, up from N1,700.
The message sent by YouTube to subscribers read: “To continue providing great service and features, we are increasing your subscription price to N1,700 per month. We don’t take these decisions lightly, but this update will allow us to continue improving YouTube Premium and supporting the creators and artists whose work you watch on YouTube.”
The price increase isn't limited to Nigeria alone; YouTube services in South Africa are also included. Starting mid-year, YouTube Premium subscription prices will rise to R81.99 per month for the individual plan and R149.99 per month for the family plan. YouTube Music subscriptions will also see an increase from R59.99 to R64.99 per month.
In the United States, some early adopters who signed up for the service in 2014 are seeing their prices increase after more than a decade of fixed subscriptions. They were paying $7.99 per month for YouTube Premium in its initial version, known as Music Key.
YouTube Premium gives subscribers access to ad-free videos and music, as well as the ability to play music in the background.
It's worth noting that in February 2024, YouTube announced that it had reached 100 million paying users across YouTube Music and YouTube Premium, reflecting a significant increase in the number of subscribers after adding more than 20 million new subscribers in 2023, up from 80 million in November 2022.
Google first launched YouTube Music in 2015, offering it as part of its popular $9.99 per month "Red" subscription. In 2018, "Red" was renamed "YouTube Premium." In recent years, YouTube has improved the service, including adding support for a variety of devices such as smart TVs and tablets, and improving the display resolution to 1080p.
YouTube also introduced new AI-powered features for Premium users, including a personalized music radio experience and new music discovery via "samples," in addition to introducing podcasts to YouTube Music.
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