Consumer Center sues Spotify’s price hike clause – and wins – Panorama

– Price increases are not uncommon on streaming services. Especially in relation to the current global situation – inflation, energy crisis and the like – rising costs are inevitable.

The Spotify music streaming service changed its terms of service in May 2021 and added clauses on possible price increases. These are as follows: “Spotify may consider price increases if, for example, the cost of content, Spotify’s IT infrastructure costs and overheads increase, resulting in an increase in the overall cost of providing Spotify Services.”

The Federal Association’s Consumer Center has now taken the aforementioned clause to court, as announced on 9 September. The rationale behind the lawsuit was a one-sided wording of the regulations that disadvantages users.

The Berlin regional court upheld the actor and on June 28 ruled that price adjustments in the terms of use of Spotify are inadmissible. Specifically, the point is that Spotify is only talking about price increases, but it hasn’t included any possibility of price reduction as compensation.

However, the Swedish company retorted that a price reduction is unrealistic and that customers have the option to cancel at any time. The court found this justification insufficient, since in 2020, for example, the sales tax was reduced. Furthermore, the guarantee in the event of changes to the clause is insufficient.

The verdict isn’t over yet, as the streaming service has challenged the decision. The decision is likely to have little impact on users. It is not yet clear what will happen next, but it is clear that Spotify faces a fine if the clauses are kept.

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