In September, YouTube increased the prices of its Premium subscription in several countries. Some European regions even saw a price hike of 55%, which was insane and premium subscribers were notified via emails. Now, YouTube is sending emails to early adopters of the YouTube Music Premium service, indicating another price change.
As per multiple users, the early adopter price of YouTube Music Premium service will soon be phased out. According to 9To5Google, the first YouTube "Music Key" streaming subscription customers were charged $7.99/month (with equivalent international pricing). After the early adopter period ended, the subscription cost went up to $9.99/month.
When Google relaunched YouTube Music in 2018, early adopters of YouTube Music Premium services also gained access to YouTube Premium service with ad-free videos, keeping the legacy pricing, i.e., $7.99/month and $9.99/month intact. Notably, at this time, normal users had to pay $9.99/month and $11.99/month for premium services.
In 2023, YouTube Premium service prices were hiked by $2, making the YouTube Music Premium service go to $11.99/month and YouTube Premium service to $13.99/month. Early adopters still paying $9.99/month for YouTube Premium were given a few month"s leeway before being required to pay the full price. However, YouTube Music Premium subscribers paying $7.99/month were unaffected.
However, that is about to change. Early adopters of YouTube Music Premium services in Europe are being told to get their pockets ready to pay the full price as others. In a screenshot shared by a Reddit user 4w3som3, YouTube is offering a 3-month extra to enjoy the service at discounted rates. But after that, everyone will be leveled.
The Verge reached out to a YouTube representative, who confirmed that the price hike or leveling will affect specific countries with a cool-off period:
We’re updating the price for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium for new and current subscribers in Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Spain, Finland, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Kuwait, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Uruguay, and Turkey.
Members who signed up originally via Google Play and received early adopter pricing will get three additional months at their current price.
For now, the US is missing from the list, and legacy users in the US haven"t apparently received any email concerning the price increase. But that may not hold off for too long.