Spotify's Long-Awaited HiFi Plan May Finally Arrive Later This Year, But It Wont Be Cheap
Spotify announced a Hi-Fi tier of its music streaming service in 2021, promising a high-fidelity listening experience to rival the likes of Tidal and Deezer. It looks like the company is finally ready to release it, with an unsavory price surprise in tow. According to Bloomberg, Spotify is cooking up a new — and pricier — subscription tier that would serve a high-fidelity music listening experience.
Internally called "Supremium," the Hi-Fi tier would be the most expensive Spotify Premium plan and will first make its way to markets outside the US, likely as a soak test. The specific price point is unknown right now. Still, it's reportedly high enough that Spotify plans to make the plan more palatable to its music streaming audience by including some bonus features — The company reportedly aims to bundle an audiobook benefit with its most expensive Hi-Fi tier subscription.
"Spotify will give subscribers expanded access to audiobooks, either through a specific number of hours free per month or a specific number of titles," says the report. Currently, Spotify subscribers have to purchase the audiobooks via a web store before they can listen to it via the Spotify app or its browser-based interface. Spotify added audiobooks to its platform in September last year before removing the ability to purchase them in the iOS app after a tussle with Apple.
A tough tune for Spotify
Audiophiles flock to services like Deezer and Tidal, but the big tech titans have caught up. Apple Music offers its Lossless Music perk for free. Amazon also provides a similar benefit to Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers. Spotify, the biggest player in the music streaming industry, won't dole out its high-res music streaming features for free.
As for why Spotify is a late entrant to the segment, it looks like licensing hassles are to blame. "So yes, I mean, many of the features that we talk about and especially that's related to music ends up into licensing," Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said during an earnings call last year when asked why the Hi-Fi tier continues getting delayed.
Right now, the most lucrative selling point that Spotify has to offer with its Hi-Fi tier is an exhaustive music library. However, it is unclear if Spotify will offer its entire music catalog in a lossless format with its priciest Premium subscription or will just upscale a limited portion. Plus, we don't have any concrete info regarding the audio depth and bitrate that Spotify Hi-Fi will offer.
Irrespective of when Spotify's "Supremium" tier arrives, it won't have an easy road ahead. Spotify Premium is priced at $9.99 monthly, while Tidal's Hi-Fi streaming tier also starts at $9.99 in the USA. Amazon Music Unlimited, which promises better than CD quality lossless audio streaming (up to 24-bit, 192 kHz), starts at $8.99 for US-based subscribers.