Spotify’s Long-Awaited HiFi Plan May Finally Arrive Later This Year, But It Wont Be Cheap
Spotifyannounced a Hi-Fi tier of its music streaming servicein 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 toBloomberg, 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.
A tough tune for Spotify
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.
