In 2021, Spotify introduced a brand new HiFi subscription tier for increased high quality audio – one of many high requested options from prospects. Nonetheless, the characteristic turned indefinitely delayed.
After years of little information, rumours are surfacing concerning the new plan. In line with Bloomberg, it can launch later this 12 months. It’s mentioned to be an add-on for present customers and can value round a further $5 per thirty days for improved audio, in addition to new instruments and options for creating playlists and managing libraries.
Spotify not too long ago elevated costs within the US and UK, a typical transfer for streaming companies earlier than introducing a shake-up in plans or a giant new characteristic that we’ve seen from Max, Disney+ and Netflix.
That implies that customers with a Spotify Premium subscription with the lossless audio add-on can pay £16.99/$16.99 per thirty days. That’s costlier than different rivals comparable to Deezer and Tidal, which value £11.99/$11.99 and £10.99/$10.99 respectively.
We don’t but know if this add-on will probably be accessible to customers on the free Spotify plan, which is ad-supported.
The unique announcement claimed that “Premium subscribers in choose markets will be capable to improve their sound high quality,” though we assume this can begin in main nations such because the UK and the US.
Spotify HiFi has been lengthy overdue as many different rival music streaming companies provide an equal subscription tier together with Tidal, Amazon Music, Qobuz and Deezer. In reality, some go increased than CD high quality (16bit/44kHz) with Hello-Res as much as 24bit/192kHz.
Beforehand, the best high quality from Spotify was 320kbps compressed through the Premium subscription, however HiFi would take issues to a CD-quality, lossless audio format accessible in your ‘machine and Spotify Join-enabled audio system’.
Which audio system will help Spotify HiFi stays to be seen, however the agency mentioned in 2021 that it was “working with a few of the world’s greatest speaker producers to make Spotify HiFi accessible to as many followers as attainable by way of Spotify Join.”
“Top quality audio means extra information, there are issues you’ll not hear should you don’t have sound system. It’s actually necessary simply because we make music that [we] wish to be heard in the way in which that it was made,” mentioned Billie Eilish through the unique announcement.