Spotify’s new ‘Hi-Fi’ subscription tier will give listeners access to lossless quality audio for an additional fee.
Audio streaming service Spotify has announced they will soon allow listeners to pay an additional subscription fee to access higher quality audio. Alongside the announcement of several other new features such as an audience development tool for artists, has have followed in the footsteps of its competitor Tidal, by introducing a new tier of subscription for CD-quality audio, called ‘Hi-Fi’.
The Swedish company has become the second most used music streaming service as of last September, with 47.7 million users in the US alone, closely following its largest rival Apple Music, which had 49.5 million users. The addition of lossless audio to Spotify’s service may prove to be the competitive edge the company needs to turn the tide, with many already talking about subscribing to the new service.
About fucking time!!!! Now I can drop Tidal foreeevverrrrr https://t.co/Zyz9jFFRON
— GD (@gbrldz) February 23, 2021
Spotify and streaming services are a topic of constant discussion amongst artists and those in the music industry, due to the way it has changed the way in which people consume music, and thus, the way in which music workers earn.
Streaming has resulted in a decrease in physical music sales due to its easy accessibility and low cost. Accompanying this is a decrease in profit for artists, as they are only paid a small amount per stream. With this new additional cost being introduced, customers are questioning if this will see Spotify increase the pay rate for artists.
So do we think Spotify is going to pay the artists any more for their new HiFi tier? 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/ObuZzmcI1l
— Guest Directors (@GuestDirectors) February 23, 2021
Still, major artists Billie Eilish and Finnieas have shown their support for the new Hi-Fi service in a testimonial video. While the exact costs and specifications of the new subscription tier are unknown, the service is due to be released later this year.
