NIGERIANS, especially those on the premium plan will pay more for subscriptions as streaming platform, Netflix has hiked its subscriptions.
The first in 2025 and the third since 2024, Netflix said Premium Plan now costs N8,500 per month, up from N7,000, a 21.43 per cent jump.
According to the firm’s website, the Standard Plan (HD quality and multi-screen support) now costs N6,500, up 18.18 per cent from N5,500.
The Basic Plan has risen by 14.29 per cent from N3,500 to N4,000, while the Mobile Plan, Netflix’s most affordable tier, now goes for N2,500, up 13.64 per cent from N2,200.
When it raised prices in April 2024, the streaming giant said it was part of a broader strategy to revise its subscription fees across various regions. The changes, according to the company, were aimed at accelerating its revenue and earnings growth, following a pattern of periodic price hikes to support the expansion of content offerings.
“As we invest in and improve Netflix, we’ll occasionally ask our members to pay a little extra to reflect those improvements, which in turn helps drive the positive flywheel of additional investment to further improve and grow our service,” the company told investors in a shareholders’ note.
Netflix further explained on its website that price changes are made to respond to local market changes, such as changes to local taxes or inflation.
Meanwhile, Music streaming platform Spotify is worried about the rising cases of artificial streams on the platform, with a warning that artists caught will lose their earnings.
According to Spotify, artificial streaming, often generated by bots or click farms, has become a major concern in the music streaming industry.
It noted that while some artists knowingly engage with these services, many fall victim unknowingly, thinking they are investing in legitimate promotions.
Spotify’s Head of Artist & Industry Partnerships, International, Bryan Johnson, said: “To be crystal clear: You can’t buy your way onto a playlist. Any service charging you money to get on a Spotify playlist, including non-editorial ones, is a scam.
“They may claim to help book you Spotify ads to promote your music, but in reality, the company took your money and utilized bots in an attempt to inflate your stream count.”
Johnson stressed that even when the services claim to use legitimate tools such as Spotify Ads, they often deploy bots to inflate stream counts, ultimately harming the artist’s profile and potential earnings.
According to him, labels and distributors will be charged per track when significant artificial streaming is detected, costs that could ultimately fall on the artists themselves.
“We know how frustrating it can be if you’re caught up in any of this. That’s why we’re investing heavily in tech and resources to detect artificial streams and enforce policies quickly to deter bad actors.
“This is something we take seriously at every level, all around the world. And our efforts are working,” Johnson said.
