Last year, popular music streaming service Spotify made waves when it publicly announced a HiFi option in the works. The excitement was real due to the fact that people believed they were going to get audiophile-grade quality through a mainstream application. Well, it has gone way beyond the promised timeframe and we haven’t heard anything about it. What’s the deal?
It was February of 2021 when the news first went live. Spotify HiFi was set to provide lossless CD quality to listeners on all devices and Spotify Connect-enabled speaker systems. It would have gone against the legendary platform at the time of the announcement, Tidal. This platform allows you to listen to high-fidelity tracks once you shell out some cash, the same way you do with Spotify. The latter announced that service should have been up within the year, however, Spotify HiFi is still nowhere to be seen.
The primary reason hinted by the company is licensing trouble. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has mentioned that many of the features they wish to release always has to pass through the rough political and economic maze of licensing. He then mentions that they are “in constant dialogue with our partners to bring this to market.” We can infer from this singular statement that it can get pretty expensive, even for a market leader like them.
According to rumors though, there’s more than meets the eye. There is also profitability to consider since rumors have been spreading that Spotify HiFi would be a paid service costing an additional $5-10 USD a month. That would normally be something one can stomach for CD quality, but Apple Music is now offering the very same quality for free. That would make even the most loyal Spotify devotees think twice about moving platforms.
Meanwhile, Amazon Music HD is also a paid service costing within the same ballpark but they have a bitrate that goes even beyond CD quality, named “Ultra HD.” This is currently the highest-resolution music one can get on a streaming service. And it’s priced at just $8 USD monthly which is an absolute steal.
Considering the market, it’s understandable that the company is taking their time with Spotify HiFi and looking for points where they can eke out an advantage over their competitors. We’re looking forward to seeing how the final product will be packaged, and until then we’ll save up for a pair of superb audio gear so we can properly evaluate the differences at launch.
