It’s been nearly four years since Spotify announced a HiFi tier for its music streaming service that would support lossless audio. That wait could end this year, Bloomberg reports, as the company works to finalize details, including streaming rights.
Spotify could charge as much as $5 or $6 extra per month for the new tier — said to be named “Music Pro” — which is in line with estimates CEO Daniel Ek shared last year. Spotify’s Premium tier currently starts at $11.99 per month before family or student discounts, the result of two price hikes in as many years.
Competitors like Apple Music include lossless streaming in their services’ base price, but Spotify reportedly plans to justify the extra charge by including more features in Music Pro, including song remixing and concert ticket sales that would grant subscribers exclusive deals and early access.
Earlier this month, Spotify signed a new multi-year licensing agreement with Warner Music Group to secure future streaming rights and help “shape the future of audio-visual streaming,” with HiFi presumably included in that vision. It inked a similar deal with Universal Music Group in late January, with UMG specifically teasing HiFi streaming and offering further ideas of what a “superfan” music service could offer. Notable suggestions included priority access to deluxe edition content and early music releases, as well as exclusive listening party invites and artist Q&A sessions.
It’s taken a little longer than expected, but it looks like the world’s biggest music streaming service may finally be ready to turn up the volume on HiFi in 2025.