Streaming services increase their prices, which are indispensable as death and taxes, and year -head, we gently pay more and more for that access. While we cannot like it, at least these price bumps are usually a very direct case. But around this time last year, Spotify started charging more customers In a way that felt especially timid. It turns out that a couple have not forgotten about the dirt, a couple, and are filing a petition to step into FTC.

It used to be that a spotify premium scheme cost is about $ 11 per month for customers. But last year Spotify introduced the audibook, and used the opportunity to justify changes in its plans and pricing. The company increased its premium plan from $ 1 to $ 12, and for this you will get access to a 15 -hour audibook stream every month.

What if you do not care about audibook, and pay for spotify because you just want music? It turns out that Spotify quietly introduced a new basic plan, which kept the old $ 11 pricing and did not include this audibook access, but you have to manually switch your account – if you do not pay attention to what is happening, you will finish on the new $ 12 scheme. And it is a matter of disappointment, it is only an option for existing users, and the audibook in the new sign-up is forced on them, such as whether it or not.

So where do a couple senator come? Senators Marsha Blackburn Tennessee and New Mexico’s Ben Ray Lujan wrote a letter to Andrew Ferguson of FTC, asking what the agency did by Spotif (through (through (through TekkachchanThe message claims that consumers were not sufficiently informed about changes and options available to them at that time.

In an interesting twist, this change on senator Spotify is also accused of making this change not only to increase revenue from customers, but also to make musicians out of their correct payments due to royalty.

Apparently bundling of premium tier with audibook access, relatively expensive $ 10/month is combined with the offer of audibook-keval scheme, allows Spotify to pay a lower rate on music royalty, if most users were still on music plans. Although this is a particularly condemnable interpretation, it is also an incredibly business-lover, and we will be very curious to hear what FTC has to say about this principle.

Did you switch to Basic or put a spotify premium and enjoy the audibook access? Tell us below in the comments.