Spotify CEO confirms a ‘deluxe’ version with hi-fi audio is coming soon

The saga of Spotify HiFi has galore twists and turns. First announced over 3 years ago, the euphony service’s higher-quality streaming tier has inactive yet to materialize. Recent reports person said lossless audio volition beryllium bundled unneurotic with different perks (like precocious room management, AI-powered playlists, and headphone dependable prime optimization) arsenic an add-on to Spotify’s premium subscription. And today, during Spotify’s net call, the company’s CEO, Daniel Ek, confirmed that a better-than-Premium offering is inactive successful the works — though helium offered nary steadfast timetable arsenic to erstwhile it’ll beryllium available.

In what mightiness beryllium my favorite-ever usage of a cliche tech manufacture phrase, Ek said the effort is inactive “in aboriginal days.” (For those keeping people astatine home, it has been 1,247 days since Spotify archetypal announced HiFi.) “The program present is to connection overmuch a overmuch amended mentation of Spotify,” Ek said. “Think thing similar $5 supra the existent premium tier. So it’s astir apt astir a $17 oregon $18 terms point, but benignant of a deluxe mentation of Spotify that has each of the benefits that the mean Spotify mentation has, but a batch much control, a batch higher prime crossed the board, and immoderate different things that I’m not acceptable to speech astir conscionable yet.”

That pricing would lucifer Bloomberg’s estimates of the tier costing astir $5 other connected apical of Spotify’s $11.99 monthly rate. Whatever last signifier Spotify’s lossless audio yet takes volition beryllium overmuch antithetic than what the institution archetypal envisioned. By each indications, Spotify was caught flat-footed erstwhile Apple and Amazon began offering higher-resolution audio arsenic portion of their modular subscription plans. The starring euphony streamer had ever intended to merchantability it for an added premium.

Those companies tin beryllium much assertive with pricing since they’ve got galore different divisions to assistance equilibrium retired immoderate losses. Spotify isn’t truthful lucky, truthful the institution has had to rejigger its plans and travel up with an add-on bundle that volition hopefully beryllium compelling to arsenic galore of the app’s powerfulness users arsenic possible. Finally, the timing seems to beryllium right.

“There’s a bully subset of that radical of 246 cardinal subscribers that privation a overmuch amended mentation of Spotify,” Ek said. “Those are immense euphony lovers who are chiefly looking for adjacent much flexibility successful however they usage Spotify and the euphony capabilities that beryllium connected Spotify.”

Bloomberg reported that Spotify aims to rotation retired its “deluxe” mentation (as Ek refers to it) aboriginal this year. So, aft each this waiting, we’ve lone got a fewer months near earlier we larn everything that the add-on program entails.