Summary
- Lossless streaming on Spotify may finally arrive this year, but it could come at a higher price.
- A rumored Supremium tier could offer lossless streaming at 2117 kbps with a hardware checker.
- Spotify’s potential lossless add-on could cost at least $5 more per month, making it more expensive than competitors.
Spotify teased its Hi-Fi tier for lossless streaming in early 2021, but lossless streaming is still missing from the service. This is despite Apple adding lossless streaming to Apple Music for free back in 2021. There are signs that Spotify will finally launch its Hi-Fi tier this year, but it could cost you a bomb. A report suggests that Spotify’s lossless subscription will cost “at least $5 more per month.”
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The Bloomberg report cites sources and notes that the new plan will include tools for better library management and playlist creation. Spotify will seemingly offer the new plan as an add-on for existing subscribers instead of raising prices and adding features to its current Premium plan. While the final subscription price will vary based on the base plan, the source claims the lossless add-on will carry a 40% markup.
A leak suggests Spotify’s rumored Supremium tier will stream music at up to 2117 kbps. It will also feature a hardware checker to ensure you have HiFi-compatible devices to enjoy lossless music like it was meant to.
A paid lossless add-on might not go well with existing Spotify subscribers, especially since the music streaming service recently raised its prices by $1 in the US to $12. This is Spotify’s second price hike in less than a year. Despite this, the streaming service has reported considerable growth in recent quarters, with the company also returning to profitability.
Spotify’s lossless add-on needs to offer a lot more than HiFi streaming
Apple Music and Amazon Music offer HiFi music streaming at no additional cost with their base plan, which starts from $11. So, if an existing Spotify subscriber has to pay an extra $5 to enjoy lossless music streaming, the service will cost them $17 monthly, making it much more expensive than the competition. The family plan could get a more considerable price hike with the lossless add-on.
Besides lossless music streaming, the add-on will reportedly feature a new playlist creation tool to generate new playlists based on activity, date, and time of year. Apparently, these playlists will also dynamically adjust themselves based on user preference and behavior. Eventually, the tool can create playlists without any user prompt or input. Spotify might include other benefits with the add-on, like additional hours of audiobook access per month, to make it more lucrative.
Given the report and possible pricing, Spotify’s lossless tier could finally go live before the end of the year.