LONDON: Spotify said on Monday it would increase monthly price of its premium individual subscription in select markets from September, including the Middle East, as the Swedish streaming giant looks to improve margins.
The company’s shares jumped nearly 8 percent. They have gained about 40 percent so far this year.
As well as the Middle East, the subscription price will rise to 11.99 euros ($13.86) per month from 10.99 euros in markets including South Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Spotify said subscribers will receive an email explaining the price rise over the next month.
Price increases in the past, combined with cost-cutting efforts in recent years, have helped it to achieve its first annual profit for 2024.
The company saw an increase in monthly active users and premium subscribers during the second quarter, while higher taxes related to employee salaries led it to post a loss during the period and weighed on its third-quarter profit forecast.
Spotify has been expanding its library of video content to attract subscribers, including through its partner program, which is designed to help podcast creators by offering them monetization options.
A growing number of creators are joining the Spotify Partner Program, resulting in a significant increase in video content on the platform, CEO Daniel Ek had earlier told Reuters.
The streaming company is also benefiting from Apple’s approval of its US app update to show subscription prices and external payment links, after a judge barred the iPhone maker from charging commission on off-app purchases.
Ek said this change has led to “a very positive uptick” in the US If similar rules are adopted in Europe and the UK, it would benefit both Spotify and other app developers.
Spotify to raise premium subscription price in MENA, other select markets from September
https://arab.news/9cuba
Spotify to raise premium subscription price in MENA, other select markets from September
- Subscription price will rise to 11.99 euros per month
Book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti set for November release
- Prison letters, photographs and other documents to feature in the book
DUBAI: A new book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti is set for publication in November, with Penguin confirmed as the publisher, The Guardian reported.
Titled “Unbroken: In Pursuit of Freedom for Palestine,” the book brings together a selection of Barghouti’s writings, including prison letters, interviews, public statements, conversations with public figures, and other documents and photographs.
It also features excerpts from his book “1,000 Days in Solitary Confinement,” which has so far only been published in Arabic.
Fadwa Barghouti, who wrote the introduction to the book, said she hoped it would allow the world to hear her husband “in his own voice, not through the noise surrounding him.”
She said in a statement: “This book finally makes that possible — and I hope it helps people understand who Marwan Barghouti truly is, and how he embodies the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity.”
Barghouti, who has spent over two decades in Israeli prison, is a member of the Fatah party. He has long advocated a two-state solution and is widely regarded as a powerful and unifying voice for Palestinians, with many supporters describing him as “Palestine’s Mandela.”
His detention has prompted repeated international advocacy efforts over the years.
In December 2025, an open letter calling for his release was signed by hundreds of celebrities, including Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Annie Ernaux; actors Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor, Mark Ruffalo and Stephen Fry; and musicians Sting, Paul Simon, Brian Eno and Annie Lennox.
In November 2025, his family and several UK-based human rights advocates ran a campaign that included demonstrations and public art installations in Palestine and London.
Barghouti has been jailed by Israel since 2004, having been handed five life sentences plus 40 years for his role during the second Palestinian uprising. He has spent significant time in solitary confinement, has been denied visits by his family for three years, and has been denied access to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
His name was on a list of prisoners to be exchanged for Israeli captives in October 2025, but Israel declined to release him.
