Lossless audio is likely to be lastly coming to Spotify

Apple Music‘s bought it, Tidal‘s bought it, Amazon Music’s bought it, so the place’s Spotify’s lossless audio possibility?

In February 2021, Spotify announced that it was planning to launch a Hello-Fi subscription tier the place customers can take pleasure in CD-quality, lossless audio. It was speculated to launch later in 2021, which might’ve been extra well timed to be able to compete with different streaming platforms that have already got lossless audio as an possibility.

However now, three years later, there’s loads of uncertainty on when Spotify Hello-Fi will launch, if ever. So should you’re questioning what Spotify Hello-Fi even is, when it is possible for you to to make use of it, and what you are able to do as an alternative of ready for it, this is every part it’s good to know.

The state of lossless audio on Spotify

The entire ethos of Spotify Hello-Fi is offering a lossless audio possibility for Spotify customers. This is able to permit customers to pay extra to decide on once they need to hearken to lossless tracks, because it’s deliberate as a unique tier of Spotify subscription from the common Premium subscription. Since it should be pricier, it would most likely embrace extra than simply CD-quality audio to make it extra price it in comparison with different streaming platforms, however extra on that later.

CD-quality or lossless audio right here refers to music information with a bitrate of 1411kbps (16bit/44.1kHz), which is the standard of the music you’ll get on a bodily CD. Presently, Spotify streams music at a most high quality/bitrate of 320kbps, which is the equal of a top quality MP3 file (although Spotify makes use of the Ogg Vorbis codec as an alternative of MP3).

The most recent info we have now on Spotify’s lossless audio as of April 2024 comes from The Verge, which reported on April 12 {that a} Reddit consumer discovered code snippets in Spotify for Android that time to a brand new add-on function known as “Music Professional.” The “Music Professional” function appears to incorporate not solely lossless audio, but in addition a DJ remix feature that may permit customers to decelerate and pace up music.

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When Spotify will launch lossless audio, if ever

Since Spotify introduced that Spotify Hello-Fi would launch again in 2021, all we have actually been in a position to do is speculate on when it is truly coming. First it was speculated to arrive “later” that 12 months, after which it by no means got here. Subsequent, there was a discussion board publish from a Spotify moderator in January 2022 who stated it will be coming “sooner or later.” Later in 2022, TechCrunch reported that Spotify’s CEO indicated that licensing points have been inflicting delays in Hello-Fi’s launch. Even with the brand new info from The Verge about “Music Professional,” there isn’t any indication of when the function will launch, however it does appear to be coming someplace down the pipeline.

Then, in March 2023, Spotify’s co-president instructed The Verge that Hello-Fi would nonetheless be coming sooner or later, however would not say when. The Verge in that very same article acknowledged that they discovered that Hello-Fi was already principally full, however Spotify was going through points with regard to pricing.

The truth that Spotify is taking a very long time to launch that is notable. Amazon Music has had CD-quality music since September 2019, Apple Music added ALAC as an possibility in June 2021, and Tidal launched FLAC help in July 2023. With different streaming platforms having huge catalogs and lossless audio as an possibility, one would anticipate Spotify to be speeding to determine it out so they do not lose subscribers, however that has but to be seen.

Spotify Hello-Fi may value greater than different streaming platforms

There’s been hypothesis for some time now that Spotify Hello-Fi will value $19.99. There was a survey given to some Premium subscribers about the potential of a $19.99 tier, which appears to again up this rumor. But when lossless launches with “Music Professional” as talked about earlier, it may not even be a totally totally different tier, however simply as an add-on.

In September 2023, The Verge reported {that a} Redditor checked out Spotify’s code and located a “Supremium” tier that may value $19.99, and embrace options like superior sorting choices and mixing instruments, in addition to 30 hours of audiobook listening month-to-month.

This worth is fairly hefty in comparison with different streaming platforms. Apple Music gives lossless audio as a part of its common subscription for $10.99, and Amazon Music does as effectively for $9.99. So if Spotify goes to ask customers to pay that rather more for lossless, it will make sense if it contains different options like these talked about above, in addition to others like Spatial Audio or Dolby Atmos help.

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Alternate options to Spotify Hello-Fi

Should you don’t need to wait longer for Spotify to drop the Hello-Fi tier, you’ve gotten plenty of different choices for lossless audio, whether or not you need to stream it or purchase it.

Different standard streaming platforms like Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music all have lossless audio of their catalogs already, so you can begin listening to top quality music instantly if you want. Different streaming choices embrace Qobuz and Deezer, which each help you stream music in FLAC format. Should you’d favor to modify to purchasing music somewhat than streaming, you can even purchase music straight from artists on Qobuz and Bandcamp. It’s also possible to go the traditional route and purchase bodily CDs out of your favourite artists.

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For now, Spotify Hello-Fi appears to be indefinitely delayed, however hopefully, sooner or later it’s going to be an possibility that Spotify customers could make full use of. For now, it might seem to be an elusive promise with seemingly limitless ready, however that is simply how it’s typically within the tech world.