Google raised prices for YouTube Premium and YouTube Music this week, now asking for $14 and $11 per month, $2 and $1 more, respectively. People immediately wondered if this increase would also affect grandfathered YouTube Red accounts, which have been paying a lower rate since the company rebranded the service to YouTube Premium in 2018. Thanks to an email sent to one such account holder, Android Police can confirm that the new price is coming to those users, too.
The email received by one of our team members pads out the bad news with nice words, saying that “As a long-standing and valued member, you are currently paying a lower rate for Premium than the rate available to new subscribers.” In the end, it still says that the price will increase to $14, which is what new subscribers also pay.
At least Google isn’t raising the price immediately. In the email, the company states, “To show our appreciation for your loyalty, we’re giving you at least three extra months at your current price before the price increase will impact your plan. Your price will not increase before your December billing date.”
For grandfathered users, this price increase represents an even bigger jump from $10 to $14. We presume that YouTube Music subscribers will also be affected by the price increase, with them currently paying $8 and then $11 in the future.
The price hike isn’t entirely surprising. YouTube Premium family saw a similar price increase last year, raising the price from $18 to $23. Some time later, the company reached out to grandfathered YouTube Premium family subscribers, telling them that their old price of $15 a month is also increasing to $23. As such, it’s just consistent that the company also raises prices for individual subscribers now that the single-person plans have been raised in price, too.
Over the years, these grandfathered YouTube Premium account holders were able to save quite some money. YouTube Premium was announced in May 2018, so over the last five years, these users were able to save more than $120.
The people grandfathered into their accounts are some of the most loyal subscribers, which Google confirmed to us in the past, given that the rebate would disappear as soon as they would cancel their plan. That small rebate probably meant enough to people to hold on to their accounts. Without a reason to stick with YouTube Premium or the paid YouTube Music plan, people might be inclined to check out Spotify or other music streaming services and simply live with ads on YouTube.