Spotify HiFi was announced back in February 2021, and while we’ve heard very little in the meantime, it now looks like a higher-quality Platinum tier is on the way.
A person who canceled Spotify got in touch 9to5Mac (opens in new tab) To say the email encouraging him to resubscribe mentions the Spotify Platinum plan for $19.99 per month (twice the standard price). This Platinum plan includes a mention of Spotify HiFi.
In addition to Hi-Res Audio, the email mentions features like Studio Sound, Headphone Tuner, Audio Insights, Library Pro, Playlist Pro, and Limited-ad Spotify Podcasts — though we don’t have any information about them covered.
not long wait time
The email in question also states that subscription tiers will be available within the next 30 days, suggesting we’ll see Spotify HiFi roll out within a month — possibly with this new platinum label attached.
Apple Music already includes lossless audio and spatial audio as part of the standard $9.99/£9.99/AU$11.99 subscription. With that in mind, Spotify’s powers may think they need to offer more to justify the price hike.
If the information in the re-subscribe email is correct, we won’t have to wait long to know for sure – you can of course read about it here once Spotify makes any sort of official announcement.
Analysis: Is the price right?
The lossless, CD-quality audio that Spotify HiFi promises will make it more in line with services like Apple Music and Tidal, but it’s unclear how important the extra audio fidelity is to the average Spotify user.
Asking users to double their monthly payments would be a tough sell — if that’s really the end result of the pricing — and adding a few extra features would definitely sweeten the deal. It remains to be seen what exactly Library Pro, Playlist Pro and other features are, but they must refer to some kind of extra feature.
In recent years, we’ve seen Spotify expand its reach into podcasts and audiobooks as it looks to attract more monthly subscribers. Making existing or new subscribers pay twice the current monthly rate would also definitely boost the streaming service’s financial health.
Spotify itself doesn’t seem to be sure when exactly Spotify HiFi will be released, and it seems that question is about to be answered. The next question is how many people will actually pay for it.
