April 3 (Reuters) - Spotify Technology SA ( SPOT )

intends to raise prices on its plans by about $1 to $2 a month

in five markets including the UK, Australia and Pakistan by the

end of April, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing

people familiar with the matter.

Shares of the Swedish music streaming service, which

competes with rival services from Apple ( AAPL ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN )

, rose more than 5%.

Spotify ( SPOT ) will raise prices in the United States later this

year, the report said, adding the company is also going to

introduce a new basic tier that will offer music and podcasts -

but not audiobooks - for the current individual premium plan.

The new basic tier is the first of what will be several new

pricing options from Spotify ( SPOT ), the report added.

Under the new pricing, individual plans will go up by about

$1 a month, while family plans and so-called duo plans for

couples will rise by $2, the Bloomberg report added.

On a monthly basis, Spotify ( SPOT ) offers premium plans including

$10.99 for an individual, $14.99 for duo and $16.99 for family

in the U.S., according to the company's website.

Spotify ( SPOT ) declined to comment on the report.

The company offers an advertising-supported free service

with limited features and a subscription-based paid service that

gives access to all its functionality, with premium subscribers

accounting for most of its revenue.

A potential price hike could help push for profitability

at the company that is expecting strong growth in subscribers.

Spotify ( SPOT ) in February forecast a near 14% jump in premium

subscribers to 239 million in the current quarter, which was

above estimates of 238.3 million.

The company has introduced offerings including podcasts

and audiobooks in a bid to cut reliance on the music industry

and gain more users.

It has content licensing deals with firms such as

Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and

Warner Music Group ( WMG ), with content from such companies

accounting for about 74% of audio content streamed on Spotify's ( SPOT )

platform as of Dec 31.