Spotify is launching a new service that will let you stream your music in lossless high-resolution audio through your hifi. This service will be available in 80 new countries, and will launch towards the end of 2021.
It’s a way to counteract the threat from Tidal
If you want to get your hands on high-quality, lossless music, there are a few options to choose from. Spotify and Apple have both made moves to provide the service. However, these services come at a cost. In fact, they’ve had to compete with Tidal, which offers CD quality streaming.
Unlike iTunes, Spotify has a user-centric payment system, which gives artists a portion of their subscription fees. This is a much more fair and transparent method of distribution than the pro-rata method employed by other music streaming services. It’s also better for musicians who feel that they don’t receive enough compensation for their work.
As it stands, there are three levels of quality offered by Spotify. Those include 96 kbps, 320 kbps, and 1411 kbps. The latter two are available on desktop and mobile, while the former is available only on the HiFi option.
There’s no word on what the pricing will be for the HiFi plan, but it’s rumored to be $5 or $10 a month. Regardless of the price, though, it’s not clear whether the service will have a free tier to support it.
Lossless audio is a form of audio compression that maintains a perfect waveform and uses more efficient algorithms to store data. Consequently, the file size is smaller.
However, in order to enjoy this format, users will need to make sure that their device can handle lossless files. Several networked hi-fi products, such as Pioneer and Denon, now support this format.
Although the Tidal service hasn’t caught on as much as Spotify, its quality and features haven’t fallen off. For instance, it has 25 million songs and 75,000 music videos to stream. They also have a team of editors who work on expert editorial content to enhance the music experience.
It’s unclear whether Tidal can compete with Spotify’s popularity, but it has been gaining some fans among musicians. Some, like Nikki Minaj, Arcade Fire, and Deadmau5, have supported the company. And some listeners are willing to pay more for a subscription plan that directly benefits artists.
With the advent of Tidal and other lossless streaming services, it seems that the music industry is recovering from the digital revolution. Hopefully, the future will see more innovative services and increased support for musicians.
It’s a way to counteract the threat from Apple Music and Amazon Music
Earlier this year, Spotify announced a new tier, called the HiFi, which would deliver CD-quality audio streaming. At that time, it was rumored to cost $5 or $10 a month, but has not yet come to fruition.
Apple introduced lossless audio in June of this year, while Amazon Music recently released its own high fidelity streaming features. While there are other services devoted to the quality of their music, notably Tidal, they haven’t been able to crack the streaming market.
Spotify, meanwhile, is making a push into podcasts, and is leaning into live audio. However, their attempts have been slow to bear fruit. And while Apple Music is no slouch, it isn’t losing out to Spotify just because it has podcasts.
Despite its hefty market share, Spotify is still behind Apple Music in 110 countries. Meanwhile, Amazon Music is available in about three dozen countries.
While the quality of Spotify’s lossless tier won’t make a difference to casual listeners, the technology is likely to impress those who demand the purest sound possible. That said, it may take some extra time for those who are used to listening to lower fidelity file types to pick up on the difference.
Until the HiFi tier is released, it may be worth trying out a service like Pandora. Its algorithms are good at finding songs that you’ll enjoy. You can also use the service to access a collection of unsigned MP3 tracks through the Internet Underground Music Archive.
With the introduction of HiFi streaming, Spotify has a strong chance to counter the challenge from Apple and Amazon. The company is also trying to maintain a healthy balance with the record industry. Hopefully, this won’t lead to another bruising spat with Taylor Swift.
Of course, there’s no way to really tell if Spotify’s HiFi will actually make a difference to listeners. For now, users will have to rely on the other features that the service has to offer, which include music charts from around the world, options for listening to live global radio stations, and an extensive lyric database.
But with more features to come, the service will surely lose customers.
It’s available in 80 new countries
The world’s largest music streaming service, Spotify, is getting into the lossless streaming game. This week, the company announced plans to expand to 80 new markets. Its new subscription tier, which will offer high-quality audio, is set to debut later this year.
While the company hasn’t revealed a specific price for its new tier, it is expected to cost around $20 a month. This premium tier will feature CD-quality, lossless audio. However, it remains unclear whether or not it will support immersive audio streams.
Lossless audio is used to ensure that there will be no loss of quality in digital music files. It sounds better than 16-bit/44.1 kHz and can reveal new details in songs. In addition, it eats up more data to stream. These formats can also be more immersive, depending on the type of headphones and speakers you use.
Spotify’s entry into the lossless streaming market follows Amazon Music and Tidal. Both of these services have offered hi-res audio at no extra cost to subscribers. They’re also available in more countries than competitors. But, like Spotify, they’re not available in all markets at once.
Spotify has been testing its HiFi tier since last year. Some users have seen an icon for the service within the iOS app. According to a Reddit post, the company has a plan to roll it out to subscribers.
Spotify said that it has partnered with speaker manufacturers to deliver high-fidelity music. The company hasn’t revealed when the service will launch, though it is likely to come to the US first.
Although Spotify hasn’t provided a specific release date, the company did confirm that it has tested CD-quality audio streams. At the same time, it announced a suite of new tools for artists, including an interactive podcast feature.
Spotify’s introduction of HiFi is likely to give Apple Music a run for its money. However, there are still some questions about the company’s potential for a full fix to artist remuneration issues. And it isn’t clear if the service will be rolled into existing Premium subscriptions.
With a huge amount of content and 286 million subscribers, Spotify is a major player in the music streaming industry. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye on the platform’s latest developments.
It’s expected to launch towards the end of 2021
Spotify has announced that they are going to offer lossless streaming for Premium subscribers. This is in line with the announcements from Apple and Amazon.
As with other services, Spotify has been testing the feature for some time. However, the release date has remained unclear. Despite the lack of details, users have continued to request a release of the feature.
Although Spotify has not officially announced a release date, it has indicated that the service will be available in select markets in the near future. If you are not a Premium subscriber, you can sign up for a 30-day trial of the HiFi streaming option.
The company has also been speaking with music labels about the new service. They’re still negotiating on how to make the new feature available. Hopefully, this will result in a higher quality experience for subscribers.
At a Spotify event in February, CEO Daniel Ek promised that Spotify HiFi would be launched before the end of 2021. That sounds promising, but it’s possible that the launch was delayed.
It appears that the delay is due to the fact that Spotify is having a hard time negotiating with the labels. While the company has had its fair share of hurdles with the music industry in the past, they are now prepared to get the ball rolling.
When it comes to the release of Spotify HiFi, the company has not yet said what the price will be or when the service will be available worldwide. Regardless, many people expect the service to be released at the start of the New Year, and it could be available for free if it launches before the year is up.
Unlike other competing services, Spotify does not own the hardware, so it will have to rely on partner OEMs to release hardware that supports lossless streams. Some of the first devices that will support the HiFi feature will be smart speakers. These speakers will have to be upgraded by the manufacturer to take advantage of the new streaming capabilities.
Depending on the headphones, the higher-quality streams may sound wider and clearer than other audio formats. Lossless formats can reveal additional details in songs.
