The world of technology never stops innovating and presenting various interesting changes to follow. This week, we saw two digital service giants, Spotify and Instagram, announce quite significant changes to their services. Spotify, a music streaming platform that has become a part of many people's daily lives, announced an increase in their subscription fees. Meanwhile, Instagram, a social network popular for its visual features, began testing a new ad format that its users couldn't skip. These two changes certainly caused various reactions from users.
Spotify Looks For Ways To Increase Revenue
Spotify, long known for its affordable premium subscription model, appears to be looking for ways to increase their revenue. This subscription fee increase was announced to take effect in the coming months and will affect all subscription levels offered by Spotify. While this price increase is not very significant, it does raise the question of how this will affect their customer base. Will users stay loyal to this service or switch to other, cheaper platforms?
Spotify Increases Subscription Fees
Spotify announced that starting next month, the premium package price will be $11.99 per month or around IDR 194 thousand, up from the previous $10.99 or around IDR 178 thousand. Apart from that, the price of the Duo package has also increased to $16.99 or around Rp. 275 thousand for two users. Despite this, Spotify still offers various subscription packages at different prices, including Family and Student packages.
Bold Steps From Instagram
On the other hand, Instagram, which has been known for its smooth and hassle-free user experience, is now starting to test ads that cannot be skipped. This ad format, which is similar to those found on YouTube, forces users to watch an ad for a few seconds before they can continue using the app. This is a bold move from Instagram, considering that one of the platform's main attractions is the ease and speed of accessing content.
Instagram Trials Unstoppable/Skip Ads
Instagram has been testing a non-skip ad feature. Currently, ads on Instagram can be skipped in both the story and homepage features. With this advertising method that cannot be skipped directly, users have to wait until the ad playback is finished before continuing to browse the Instagram feed. This feature was first discovered by Instagram user Dan Levy, who uploaded a screenshot of the test via Twitter. Some users consider it a controversial move.
Instagram User Reactions and Questions
A follow-up post on Reddit clarifies that if you click the info icon next to the ad break to learn more, you'll see a message that reads: “You see a ad break. Ad breaks are a new way to view ads on Instagram. Sometimes you may need to view an ad before continuing to browse.”
Other comments confirmed that they had also seen the feature. But most reactions were negative. Some people threatened to shut down Instagram if they encountered “ad breaks” like this, while others said they would stop using the app entirely. Additionally, commentators questioned whether this decision was driven by the need to increase engagement on advertising, at the expense of consumer experience.
Conclusion
These two changes show how technology companies continue to look for ways to optimize their revenues amidst increasingly fierce competition. But these changes also raise questions about how these companies are considering user experience in their business strategies. Is user satisfaction still a priority, or is revenue the main focus?
These questions and more will continue to be topics of discussion among users and industry observers. What do you think about this change? Are you willing to pay more for the same service? And would you still use Instagram even if you had to watch unskippable ads? Share your opinion and let's discuss it together.
With these changes, Spotify users will need to reconsider their subscription costs, while Instagram users will have to adapt to unmissable ads. Hopefully this information helps you understand the latest changes on both platforms!
