Yet another streaming service is set to announce price hikes. This time, according to Phone Arena, the popular music streaming service Spotify is the culprit. On the heels of the company launching its basic ad-free tier in June, Spotify seems ready to launch its long-awaited premium Hi-Fi tier service, which will finally bring high-quality lossless audio to the platform, among other features.
So, just how much will this premium tier set you back? On a recent company call, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said consumers could expect to shell out between $17 – $18. That’s $5 – $6 more than the current premium tier, which costs $12 monthly. Compare that to Tidal’s Hi-Fi subscription, which costs $11, like Apple Music and Qobuz. However, Qobuz also has a $15 tier that lets you purchase Hi-Fi albums at a discount. Amazon Music is currently the cheapest service offering lossless audio at $10.
In addition to the Hi-Res tracks, this new tier might create custom playlists based on specific dates, events, and other activities, which will more than likely use some AI special sauce. There’s also speculation that this new algorithm will predict user preferences and create playlists, or at least try to. For now, this is all rumor.
And if you’re wondering what the big deal is about lossless audio, it’s this. A staple of the audiophile crowd, lossless audio is uncompressed, CD-quality audio. That means this is one of the best ways to hear your favorite tracks, as the artist intended when the track was recorded in the studio. Lossless audio files (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, TIFF) stream at 16-bit/44.1kHz, while Hi-Res files (MQA, AIFF, DSD) are categorized as 16-bit/96kHz or 24-bit/44.1kHz audio. However, the most common Hi-Res audio quality for streaming or download is 24-bit/48kHz or 96kHz.
Also, keep in mind that lossless audio is also considered Hi-Res. I know, I know, it’s a bit confusing. All you need to know is that it sounds better than what Spotify currently offers. While this new tier will be more expensive, if you’re a music fan, you owe it to yourself to give it a listen whenever it launches.
