Audiophiles have been asking Spotify to step up their quality for years, and it seems the streaming giant is finally willing to offer a solution.
Earlier today at their Stream On event, Spotify revealed that they’re planning on launching a new high-fidelity streaming component “in select markets.” You’re probably wondering if Canada is on the list of markets where Spotify HiFi will launch, but unfortunately those details haven’t come out yet.
What we do know is the new feature will provide customers with “CD-quality, lossless audio,” which has been requested by the company’s more audio-savvy/picky clients for quite sometime. The new service is expected to launch later this year, but pricing and market availability has yet to be announced.
As Chris Mench from Genius noted: “Amazon’s lossless HD audio tier costs $14.99 per month, while TIDAL’s is $19.99. Spotify promised the service would allow fans to ‘experience more depth and clarity while enjoying their favorite tracks.'”
It’s probably a safe bet to assume that the cost will fall in some where around those two examples. Deezer is also offering a similar service, but Spotify’s main competitor Apple Music has yet to step into the high-fidelity streaming space.
Also announced today comes Spotify’s broadest market expansion to date. “Spotify is embarking on a sweeping expansion that will introduce the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service available to more than a billion people in 80+ new markets around the world, and add 36 languages to our platform.”
Click here for a list of the new markets.
5 Things to Know About Spotify HiFi
- High-quality music streaming is consistently one of the most requested new features by our users.
- Spotify HiFi will deliver music in CD-quality, lossless audio format to your device and Spotify Connect-enabled speakers, which means fans will be able to experience more depth and clarity while enjoying their favorite tracks.
- Ubiquity is at the core of everything we do at Spotify, and we’re working with some of the world’s biggest speaker manufacturers to make Spotify HiFi accessible to as many fans as possible through Spotify Connect.
- HiFi will be coupled with Spotify’s seamless user experience, building on our commitment to make sure users can listen to the music they love in the way they want to enjoy it.
- Spotify HiFi will begin rolling out in select markets later this year, and we will have more details to share soon.
