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Spotify, the world’s largest music-streaming service, has announced that it will increase the prices of its ad-free Premium plans in more than 50 countries, including the US, UK and Ireland.

The company, which has more than 200 million Premium subscribers, said the move will help it invest more in new content and features for its users.

The price hike will affect all Premium plans, except for the individual plan in some markets. The price of a single plan will now start at a monthly rate of $10.99 (£8.56) in the US, £9.99 in the UK and €9.99 in Ireland. The duo plan will cost $14.99 (£11.68) in the US, £12.99 in the UK and €12.99 in Ireland. The family plan will cost $16.99 (£13.29) in the US, £14.99 in the UK and €14.99 in Ireland. The student plan will cost $5.99 (£4.67) in the US, £4.99 in the UK and €4.99 in Ireland.

Other countries that will see price increases include Spain, Australia, Canada and France.

The company said existing subscribers will be notified one-month before price changes come into effect and will have a grace period to keep their current prices for one billing cycle.

It also said that Premium subscribers can switch to their free ad-supported service if they do not wish to pay the higher fee.

The price hike comes as Spotify faces increasing competition from other streaming services, such as Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music, which have also raised their prices this year.

Spotify has also been under pressure from investors to boost its profitability after years of growing user numbers but posting losses.

The company has recently laid off hundreds of staff and restructured its podcast unit, which it had built up with billions of dollars in investment, in order to improve its margins.

Spotify said it remains committed to offering its users the best audio experience possible and that it will continue to add more value to its Premium plans.

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