Spotify HiFi was announced in February 2021, and while we’ve heard very little about it in the meantime, it now looks as if the launch of a higher quality category called Platinum is imminent now.
Someone who canceled Spotify contacted 9to5Mac (Opens in a new tab) To say the email that encouraged him to resubscribe mentioned the Spotify Platinum plan for $19.99 a month (twice the standard price). That platinum plan included a reference to Spotify HiFi.
In addition to Hi-Res audio, the email also mentions features like Studio Sound, Headphone Tuner, Audio Insights, Library Pro, Playlist Pro, and limited-ad Spotify podcasts – although we don’t have any information on all of them involved.
Didn’t take long to wait
The email in question also said that subscription tiers will be available in the next 30 days, which indicates we’ll see Spotify HiFi roll out within a month – likely with this new platinum tag attached.
Apple Music already includes lossless audio and Spatial Audio as part of a standard $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$11.99 subscription. With that in mind, it’s possible that the powers that be at Spotify feel they need to offer more to justify the higher prices.
If the information in the resubscribe email is correct, we don’t have long to wait to know for sure – and once Spotify makes any kind of official announcement, you’ll of course be able to read about it here.
Analysis: Will the price be right?
The lossless audio and CD quality promised by Spotify HiFi will make it more in line with services like Apple Music and Tidal, but what’s not clear is how important the extra level of audio fidelity is to the average Spotify subscriber.
Asking users to double their monthly payments would be a tough sell – if that’s how the price actually ends up being – and adding a few extra features would definitely improve the deal. It remains to be seen exactly what Library Pro, Playlist Pro, and other features are, but it should indicate add-ons of some sort.
We’ve seen Spotify expand its reach in podcasts and audiobooks in recent years, as it looks to attract more subscribers per month. Making existing or new subscribers pay double the running price each month would boost the streaming service’s finances as well.
Spotify itself seems unsure of when Spotify HiFi will be launched, and this question appears to be about to be answered. The next question is how many people will actually pay for it.