Spotify’s repeated pricing changes have exhausted subscribers, especially those in the U.S. who have already been put through two rounds of price hikes. Now, a report from Bloomberg has brought up Spotify HiFi price leaks which suggest that a new plan will be introduced soon enough, with a $5 higher price tag. The new add-on plan will provide users with access to high-fidelity audio and have a few additional features like customized playlist creation to sweeten the deal. Apart from Spotify lossless music tier pricing, there aren’t too many details on what will make it appealing enough for users to purchase and when exactly the plan will be out.
Spotify had first brought up the possibility of such a plan back in 2021 but all talk of it died down as rumors and nothing more. Since the company has not officially confirmed any details yet, it might still be a while before we see the next Spotify subscription increase.
Image: Spotify
Spotify Pricing Changes Imminent—Spotify Lossless Plan to be Priced at $16
Spotify’s pricing changes had users wondering why their prices were going up again and in response to that, the company said “We are committed to delivering the best audio content around the world, and we are always working to bring our subscribers a highly personalized experience and powerful discovery tools. This update will help us continue delivering value to fans.” As one of these fans, it’s hard to understand what the company needs the additional revenue for if nothing changes in the quality and performance of the app.
Some suggest business might not be going as well as the company hoped and the scattered evidence is there if you’re willing to sift through it. Spotify decided to finally shut down all investments in their “Car Thing” product, a decision that upset consumers but gave hackers the incentive to find a way to revive the device. The company has also cut back on its internal podcast business, canceling critically acclaimed podcasts like Heavyweight and Stolen, and laying off over 200 employees. This was only a small part of the overall layoff where over 1,500 employees were let go, a decision that affected business much more than CEO Daniel Ek expected.
The recent Spotify price hike means the company has made a 20 percent increase in its pricing over the past two years according to CNN, which is a substantial jump up for the company. However, the two rounds of Spotify’s pricing changes are its first price increase in over a decade, which makes their change in price more reasonable as they try to find the sweet spot for what works for them.
Recent Spotify Price Hike
The individual plan for Spotify went up from $9.99 USD to $10.99 USD earlier, and it has now been hiked to $11.99 USD. Spotify’s pricing changes extend to the other plans as well, which means the Duo plan has gone up from $14.99 USD to $16.99 USD and the Family plan has been hiked from $16.99 USD to $19.99 USD. The Student plan remains unchanged at $5.99 USD.
When Will Spotify Get Lossless Music Streaming?
Users have no choice but to make peace with the pricing changes and accept that other music streaming services will soon follow suit with their own price hikes as well. Still, the Spotify HiFi price leak may be one hike that users may pay for willingly. The Spotify lossless audio price has been set at $5 USD, and it will be available as an add-on in addition to existing plans.
Whether users will pay the Spotify lossless price or not is something of a mystery considering the final expenses on a music listening service will significantly add up to a big amount. Other competitors like Apple Music already provide lossless music with their standard plans and these cost a more reasonable $10 USD. Along with HiFi lossless audio, the music streaming service will throw in some adaptive auto-playlist generators for tailored listening to make the plan more appealing to the audience. These tools will generate personalized mixes for different times and categories, allowing users to listen to their favorite artists and discover new music all at once.
Other than the high-fidelity audio, It doesn’t sound too different from what Spotify already provides with its premium and free tiers. Without a sufficient reason to spend another $5 on the Spotify lossless plan pricing, the add-on may not see as many takers as the company might hope but we may be wrong about that. Despite the first round of price hikes, the number of Spotify users reportedly went up so there is a clear segment of users who still appreciate what Spotify is putting out.
We’ll have to wait to hear more details about Spotify’s pricing changes and the full scope of what they have planned for the next evolution of their subscription service.