Spotify Hi-Fi Audio Plan Still in ‘Early Days’; Deluxe Plan to Deliver More Features, CEO Says

Unlike Spotify's upcoming deluxe plan, rivals Amazon Music and Apple Music offer lossless audio streaming without any additional cost.

Written by Shaurya Tomer, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 24 July 2024 13:24 IST

Spotify Hi-Fi Audio Plan Still in ‘Early Days’; Deluxe Plan to Deliver More Features, CEO Says

Photo Credit: Bloomberg

Spotify first announced plans to launch a high-res audio streaming plan, dubbed "Spotify HiFi", in 2021

Highlights

Spotify's CEO has confirmed plans to introduce a "deluxe" subscription
It would offer hi-fi audio streaming and more features
The new Spotify plan could cost at least $5 more than the Premium tier

Spotify has confirmed that it is working on a “deluxe” version of its subscription that offers hi-fi (high fidelity) audio streaming, but the company is still in “early days” of planning, CEO Daniel Ek said during the company's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday. When launched, this plan is speculated to be priced considerably higher than its current Premium plan. The Swedish audio streaming service first announced its decision to introduce a high-end subscription service dubbed Spotify HiFi in 2020.

Spotify's “Deluxe” Plan

During the earnings call, Spotify's CEO revealed that a new subscription plan, that would sit above its Premium plan, is in development. “The plan here is to offer a much better version of Spotify”. However, the official did not delve into details of its rollout timeline.

As per the CEO, this new subscription would be a "deluxe" version of Spotify, offering hi-fi audio, and other benefits, in addition to existing features of Spotify Premium. While he remained cryptic about other offerings included in this plan, previous reports have speculated that the streaming service could bundle a feature that lets users generate playlists using artificial intelligence (AI) and among other tools.

The plan won't be easy on the pocket, according to Spotify's CEO, who said that the deluxe plan could cost at least $5 (roughly Rs. 419) more per month than Spotify Premium, which costs $11.99 (roughly Rs. 1,000) for the Premium Individual plan.

“Think something like $5 above the current premium tier. So it's probably around a $17 or $18 price point, but sort of a deluxe version of Spotify that has all of the benefits that the normal Spotify version has, but a lot more control, a lot higher quality across the board, and some other things that I'm not ready to talk about just yet,” Ek said during the earnings call.

Notably, Spotify's competitors, such as Amazon Music and Apple Music, offer lossless audio streaming without any added cost. However, both platforms are only available via a paid subscription and do not have an ad-supported free plan which Spotify offers, albeit with certain restrictions.

The CEO further revealed that a “good subset” of the streaming service's total user base wants a “much better” version of Spotify. Its new subscription plan is said to tackle this area, offering more controls than just high-res audio streaming.

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Further reading: Spotify, Spotify Premium, Spotify Premium Plans, Spotify Deluxe, Daniel Ek

Shaurya Tomer

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Shaurya Tomer is a Sub Editor at Gadgets 360 with 2 years of experience across a diverse spectrum of topics. With a particular focus on smartphones, gadgets and the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI), he often likes to explore the industry's intricacies and innovations – whether dissecting the latest smartphone release or exploring the ethical implications of AI advancements. In his free time, he often embarks on impromptu road trips to unwind, recharge, and ...More