By Emmanuel Ogbodo
Spotify’s long-anticipated Hi-Fi tier is about to become a reality. The music streaming service has confirmed that a new deluxe version with various enhancements is in development and will be available soon.
After introducing a basic ad-free plan in June for those not interested in audiobooks, Spotify is preparing to launch a more premium tier to attract an audience seeking superior quality.
During the company’s earnings call, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek mentioned that this upcoming deluxe tier might cost about $5 more than the current premium tier (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Though the deluxe plan is still in its early stages, Spotify is committed to launching it, believing it will appeal to a specific consumer group.
Ek stated that the new premium tier would be priced around $17 or $18 and would be a deluxe version offering all the benefits of regular Spotify, plus more control and higher quality overall.
The highlight of this deluxe version is the lossless audio feature, supporting up to 24-bit/44.1kHz playback for select songs in the FLAC audio format.
Additionally, the upgraded tier is rumored to offer custom playlist generation based on specific dates, events, or activities, with an algorithm predicting user preferences to create playlists.
Currently, only Amazon Music, Apple Music, and TIDAL offer lossless audio to subscribers. It’s surprising that Spotify hasn’t yet included this feature, but there might be strategic reasons behind this decision.
