Spotify HiFi was announced back in February 2021, and while we haven’t heard much about it in the meantime, it now looks like the launch of a higher-end tier called Platinum is inevitable.
The person who canceled Spotify contacted 9to5Mac (opens in a new tab) to say that the email encouraging him to renew his subscription mentioned the Spotify Platinum plan for $19.99 per month (double the standard price). The platinum plan included a mention of Spotify HiFi.
As well as high-res audio, the email also references features such as Studio Sound, Headphone Tuner, Audio Insights, Library Pro, Playlist Pro and Spotify podcasts with limited ads – although we don’t have any information on what they all involve.
Not long to wait
The email in question also said that subscription tiers will be available in the next 30 days, suggesting that Spotify HiFi will launch in a month, possibly with a new Platinum label.
Apple Music already includes Lossless sound and Spatial Audio feature as part of the $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$11.99 standard subscription. With that in mind, it’s possible that Spotify feels they need to offer more to justify a price increase.
If the information in the re-subscription email is accurate, we won’t have long to wait to find out for sure – and as soon as Spotify makes some sort of official announcement, you’ll of course be able to read about it here.
Analysis: Will the price be right?
The CD-quality lossless audio promised by Spotify HiFi will bring it more in line with services like Apple Music and Tidal, but it’s unclear how important the extra level of audio fidelity is to the average Spotify subscriber.
Asking users to double their monthly payment is going to be a tough sell – if that’s really how the pricing ends up – and adding some extra features is definitely going to sweeten the deal. Exactly what Library Pro, Playlist Pro, and the other features are remains to be seen, but they must be related to some kind of additional functionality.
We’ve seen Spotify expand its reach into podcasts and audiobooks in recent years, how it looks to attract more monthly subscribers. Forcing existing or new subscribers to pay double the current rate every month would also add significantly to the streaming service’s finances.
Spotify itself seemed uncertain about exactly when Spotify HiFi was supposed to launch, and it looks like that question is about to be answered. The next question is how many people will actually pay for it.
https://www.techradar.com/news/spotify-could-be-readying-a-hi-res-audio-platinum-plan/