Spotify’s long-anticipated HiFi tier might require a more expensive subscription
Spotify is reportedly planning to include lossless audio streaming in a new, more expensive subscription tier codenamed “Supremium” internally, according to Bloomberg. The lossless streaming feature was first announced in February 2021 as “Spotify HiFi,” but is still yet to release over two years later. Bloomberg reports that the new more expensive plan could release later this year, initially in non-US markets.
The pricing of Spotify HiFi has been a source of much speculation in the years since its announcement, especially after competitors Amazon Music and Apple Music started offering lossless streaming as part of their standard plans at no additional charge. Bloomberg reports that Spotify delayed the release of HiFi after Amazon and Apple’s announcements.
“We want to do it in a way where it works for us from a cost perspective as well”
In March, Spotify co-president Gustav Söderström confirmed to The Verge that HiFi is still on the way. “We announced it, but then the industry changed for a bunch of reasons,” Söderström said on an episode of Decoder in March. “We are going to do it, but we’re going to do it in a way where it makes sense for us and for our listeners. The industry changed and we had to adapt.”
Söderström added that the company was still trying to work out the financials of the HiFi offering. “We want to do it in a way where it works for us from a cost perspective as well. I’m not allowed to comment on our label agreements, nor on what other players in the industry did, for obvious reasons,” he said. In October last year a Spotify survey suggested it was considering charging $19.99 for the feature as part of a “Platinum” plan. The same survey also hinted that the company could include audiobook access as part of a future plan.
Meanwhile, a single subscription to Spotify’s current premium tier has been priced at $9.99 in the US since its original launch in the country, Bloomberg notes, while competitors Apple and Amazon have increased the prices of their standard tiers to $10.99.
Bloomberg also reports that Spotify is considering bundling access to audiobooks into its current Premium tier in the US from October, and potentially sooner in other markets. Access could be offered to a certain number of hours of audiobooks, or a specific number of titles. Spotify already offers audiobooks, but they’re currently sold on an individual basis.
Source: The Verge
