June 21, 2023
Spotify users may soon be able to opt for higher-quality audio while streaming their favorite songs, audiobooks and podcasts — for a price.
The music streaming service is preparing to launch a more expensive subscription option that would include high-fidelity audio, Bloomberg reported. The new Spotify premium tier, referred to internally as "Supremium," will roll out in non-U.S. markets this year before unveiling in the U.S.
MORE: Spotify redesigns app with vertical video feed similar to TikTok
The term high-fidelity is usually used by audio professionals to refer to digital sound that has not lost quality due to its digitizing. HiFi audio often is referred to as lossless, as in nothing was lost between recording and reproducing the audio.
Spotify first teased a lossless premium feature, dubbed "Spotify HiFi," back in February of 2021, but delayed the release after competitors Amazon Music and Apple Music announced they'd be adding lossless streaming for free, people familiar with the strategy said. The streaming service Tidal also offers high-fidelity audio.
Now, Spotify — which unveiled an extensive app redesign in March — is allegedly moving forward with the Supremium plan "in an effort to drive more revenue and placate investors who’ve been saying the company should raise its prices," according to Bloomberg's report.
Current Spotify plans include a free standard option, which comes with ads, lacks features and streams audio at 160 kilobits per second, which is considered the minimum bitrate for decent audio listening. Spotify's premium plan costs $9.99 a month, is adless and offers a streaming rate of 320 Kbps. Supremium will be Spotify's most expensive plan and would stream audio at around 1,400 Kbps.
Spotify also has monthly discounted premium options for students, as well as groups of two or six.
To add value to the current premium plan, the company plans to give premium subscribers expanded access to audiobooks starting this fall. Spotify audiobooks currently must be purchased individually online.
The price of the new premium tier has not yet been announced, but last year, a Spotify survey suggested it was considering charging $19.99 for HiFi.
Some experts argue the difference in sound may be negligible to most people who are not experienced audiophiles.
“If there’s any discernible difference, it’s so subtle and so slight, you would have to be somebody who’s been in the business for decades like me to hear it,” said Prince Charles Alexander, a recording engineer and music production instructor.
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