I’m hard-pressed to search out one other instance of a tech firm saying one thing after which ready over 4 years to really ship it, however that’s precisely the state of affairs we’ve reached with Spotify and its long-delayed HiFi characteristic. The most recent experiences point out it’s lastly coming in a matter of months as a part of a Music Professional bundle that Spotify hopes will make sure the service’s continued profitability.
However this has grow to be fairly the saga.
By all accounts, this aggressive strategy from each corporations completely derailed Spotify HiFi, which was all the time going to demand an upcharge over the service’s common Premium subscription. The corporate went radio silent on the characteristic, and Spotify spokespeople by no means offered any significant updates on its standing.
However I feel Spotify additionally got here to understand that higher-bitrate music streams alone wouldn’t be sufficient to prop up an “final” subscription tier. Lots of people merely can’t hear the distinction between lossy audio (like Spotify presents right this moment) and CD-quality streams — or they lack the form of headphone/speaker {hardware} that will spotlight such an improve.
So the corporate has been transforming the plan right into a broader “Music Professional” add-on that extends far past audio high quality. It’s nonetheless unclear precisely what this may find yourself trying like: previous experiences have talked about the whole lot from early-access live performance ticketing to DJ remixing tools. It’s additionally been rumored that Music Professional might supply an “optimization” trick for particular fashions of earbuds, headphones, and audio system. Spotify’s user surveys have hinted at different prospects together with karaoke — one other factor Apple Music is already doing — and the choice so as to add an extra person account to any Music Professional subscription.
Spotify itself is likely to be undecided on simply what Music Professional ought to entail: Bloomberg reported that the corporate “plans to roll out the plan in phases, including instruments and options over time” and remains to be planning to check new capabilities all through 2025. However the surest signal that Music Professional is definitely occurring is that Spotify is speaking concerning the undertaking once more. CEO Daniel Ek has talked about an upcoming deluxe tier on a number of events. Final yr, he mentioned it could supply “the entire advantages that the traditional Spotify model has, however much more management, rather a lot increased high quality throughout the board, and another issues that I’m not prepared to speak about simply but.” And just a few weeks in the past, Ek claimed Spotify plans to “double down on music in 2025.”
At any time when it does finally arrive, Music Professional will tack an additional $5 or $6 onto a typical Spotify Premium subscription, which presently begins at $11.99 per 30 days. I’ve already made the swap to Apple Music, as I like realizing I’m getting the very best quality potential for my cash. However even I’ll be tempted to strive Spotify’s final plan as soon as it’s prepared. I don’t significantly miss Spotify Wrapped anymore, nevertheless it’s nonetheless the platform the place most of my associates do their listening. If the corporate can string collectively an attractive bundle of perks, there’s all the time an opportunity I’d return. It’d be a troublesome capsule to swallow after utilizing the far much less bloated Apple Music app for therefore lengthy, although.