Spotify Introduces Premium Tier with Lossless Audio and Advanced Features for $17/Month

Stockholm, Stockholm County, Sweden Sweden
CEO Daniel Ek made announcement during Q2 2024 earnings call
Competition from Apple Music and Amazon Music drove development
Expected to cost around $17 or $18 per month
Features include lossless audio and advanced tools for creating playlists and managing libraries
Spotify introducing new premium tier with lossless audio and advanced features
Spotify Introduces Premium Tier with Lossless Audio and Advanced Features for $17/Month

Spotify, the leading music streaming service, is set to introduce a new premium tier with enhanced features, including higher-quality audio. The announcement was made during the company's second-quarter 2024 earnings call by CEO Daniel Ek. According to reports, the upcoming tier will likely cost around $17 or $18 per month and offer lossless audio and more control compared to the current premium tier.

The development of Spotify HiFi, as it is being called, has been in progress since early 2021. Ek confirmed during the call that consumers have been asking for this feature and that the company believes there is a large subset of its 246 million subscribers who want it.

Spotify's competitors, such as Apple Music and Amazon Music, already offer high-resolution audio tiers. Spotify's move to introduce a similar offering is seen as an effort to stay competitive in the market.

The new premium tier is expected to provide a much better version of Spotify with higher quality audio across the board. Ek described it as a deluxe version of the service that will offer more control and advanced features for music lovers.

Spotify's decision to introduce a more expensive premium tier comes after the company posted record-breaking quarterly results following price increases in its US subscription plans. The company has also announced layoffs and initiatives to boost top-line growth and improve margins, such as a music-only streaming tier and audiobooks-only plan.

The exact features of the new premium tier have not been announced yet, but Ek did mention that it will offer lossless audio. He also hinted at other advanced tools for creating playlists and managing libraries.

Spotify's move to introduce a more expensive premium tier is a response to consumer demand and competition from rivals. The company believes that there is a large subset of its subscribers who are willing to pay extra for higher-quality audio and advanced features. With the new premium tier, Spotify aims to offer a much better version of its service and cater to the needs of music lovers.



Confidence

91%

Doubts
  • Additional features beyond lossless audio have not been announced yet
  • Exact cost of the new premium tier is not confirmed

Sources

89%

  • Unique Points
    • Spotify CEO Daniel Ek says the company is still in the 'early days' of its plans to bring hi-fi support to the platform.
    • The upcoming deluxe tier will offer a much better version of Spotify with higher quality audio and additional features, possibly priced around $17 or $18.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (50%)
    The article contains editorializing and selective reporting. The author uses the phrase 'early days' multiple times to describe Spotify's plans for hi-fi audio support, implying that the company is making slow progress when it may not be the case. Additionally, the author mentions that Apple Music and Amazon Music have offered lossless audio streaming for years at no extra cost but fails to mention that Spotify has also offered lossless audio streaming since 2017 through its Family Premium plan. This selective reporting creates a false narrative that Spotify is lagging behind its competitors in terms of hi-fi audio support.
    • Those are huge music lovers who are primarily looking for even more flexibility in how they use Spotify and the music capabilities that exist on Spotify.
    • It's unknown why it's taking Spotify so long to release the tier, but it's possible that the company wants to ensure that it's offering enough value to users to charge for the addition, even as its competitors offer it for free.
    • The plan here is to offer a much better version of Spotify.
  • Fallacies (95%)
    The article contains an instance of an appeal to authority fallacy when it mentions that 'Content creators are busy people.' This statement is not a logical argument and does not provide evidence or reasoning for any claims made in the article. It is simply stating a common belief without providing any basis for it.
    • Content creators are busy people.
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

96%

  • Unique Points
    • Spotify CEO Daniel Ek confirmed that a 'deluxe' version of Spotify with higher-quality audio is coming soon
    • The deluxe version of Spotify will offer more control and higher quality across the board compared to the regular Spotify version
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (80%)
    The article contains editorializing and selective reporting. The author uses the phrase 'deluxe version' multiple times to describe the upcoming Spotify feature without providing any context as to what that means beyond being a higher-tier subscription. This is an example of sensationalism and selective reporting, as it creates a sense of excitement and importance around the new feature without providing any concrete information about what it entails. The author also quotes Ek's statement about the 'good subset' of subscribers who want 'even more flexibility' without challenging or questioning that assumption, further contributing to the selective reporting.
    • The plan here is to offer much a much better version of Spotify...Think something like $5 above the current premium tier.
    • There’s a good subset of that group of 246 million subscribers that want a much better version of Spotify...Those are huge music lovers who are primarily looking for even more flexibility in how they use Spotify and the music capabilities that exist on Spotify.
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

98%

  • Unique Points
    • Spotify posted a record-breaking quarter after increasing the prices of its premium US subscription plans.
    • Spotify is planning to introduce a more expensive premium tier later this year with enhanced features.
    • CEO Daniel Ek confirmed the upcoming premium plan, stating that consumers have been asking for it.
  • Accuracy
    • The deluxe version of Spotify will likely cost around $17 or $18 per month.
    • Spotify HiFi, a high-resolution audio tier, is expected to offer lossless audio and higher quality across the board.
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication

99%

  • Unique Points
    • Spotify HiFi, a high-resolution audio tier, has been in development at the company since early 2021.
    • Spotify CEO Daniel Ek mentioned during the company’s second-quarter 2024 earnings call that the upcoming Spotify HiFi tier will likely cost around $17 or $18 a month.
    • Spotify HiFi is expected to offer lossless audio, higher quality across the board, and more control compared to the current premium tier.
    • Spotify HiFi was previously described as ‘lossless CD-quality’.
  • Accuracy
    No Contradictions at Time Of Publication
  • Deception (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Fallacies (95%)
    The author makes an appeal to authority when quoting Ek's statements about the pricing and availability of Spotify HiFi. No formal or dichotomous fallacies were identified.
    • “So think something that could be something like $5 above the current premium tier. It’s probably around the $17, or $18 price point.”
  • Bias (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication
  • Author Conflicts Of Interest (100%)
    None Found At Time Of Publication