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Spotify's pricey HiFi tier could be finally arriving, with a feature to win you over
- A new report suggests that Spotify is preparing to launch its lossless music subscription tier.
- The new tier is expected to cost at least $5 more per month than Spotify’s current premium plans.
- The upgraded tier will also offer innovative playlist creation and curation tools.
After years of rumors and leaks, Spotify‘s highly anticipated lossless music plan may finally be coming to fruition, albeit at a premium price, according to a recent report from Bloomberg. Although the new ‘super premium’ plan is expected to be expensive, Spotify seems to have figured out an appealing feature that could make the extra cost worthwhile for users.
According to the report, the new premium tier is expected to cost at least $5 more per month than Spotify’s current offerings and will be positioned as an add-on for existing subscribers. The report says that the pricing for the new tier will vary depending on each user’s base plan pricing (possibly referring to different prices in different regions), but it is estimated to average out to about a 40% markup.
This means that premium Spotify subscribers in the US, who are currently paying the recently increased price of $11.99 per month, could potentially see their monthly costs rise to $16-17 if they choose to upgrade.
This significant price increase may lead some users to reconsider their subscription altogether, especially considering that competitors like Apple Music and Amazon Music already offer lossless music as part of their standard premium plans, priced at around $10 per month.
However, Spotify appears to be banking on a combination of features to justify the higher cost.
In addition to lossless audio, the new tier will reportedly include innovative playlist creation and curation tools capable of generating personalized mixes for specific activities, dates, and times of the year. These adaptive playlists will learn from each user’s listening habits to deliver increasingly tailored musical experiences. This isn’t entirely new territory for Spotify, as its “Spotify DJ” feature has flirted with similar concepts.
Spotify could potentially find success by emphasizing the social and shareable aspects of these features, similar to the popular “Spotify Wrapped” year-end recap, which has become a major social media event. If the company can create a similar buzz around its super-premium tier, it may convince users that the added cost is worth the personalized and shareable music experience.
While the prospect of paying a premium for lossless audio may not appeal to all users, Spotify is likely hoping that the combination of high-fidelity sound and innovative playlist features will be enough to entice a significant portion of its user base to upgrade.
Would you be willing to pay an additional $5 per month for the promise of lossless audio or personalized music curation features? Let us know in the comments below.