Spotify Introduces Lossless Music Streaming for Premium Users
After much anticipation, Spotify has finally launched high-quality, lossless music streaming for its premium account holders. The company had initially announced plans for a hi-fi tier back in 2021, promising CD-quality audio, but faced delays due to licensing issues. CEO Daniel Ek mentioned last year that Spotify was in the early stages of introducing lossless streaming support.
Recent reports and code findings within the app hinted at Spotify’s intention to offer a more expensive tier for lossless music. Now, the company has officially unveiled support for up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC quality streaming, which preserves the original audio quality without compression, for paid users. The rollout of lossless streaming will occur in over 50 countries throughout October, with subscribers in select regions already gaining access.
Users will receive notifications on their app when lossless streaming becomes available to them. To enable the feature, users can navigate to Settings and Privacy > Media Quality and select “Lossless” quality for streaming via Wi-Fi, cellular data, and downloads. It’s important to note that the setting must be manually activated on each device, as it does not apply universally across all devices linked to a Spotify account.
Due to the larger file sizes associated with lossless streaming, users will be able to monitor their data usage for streaming purposes. While lossless quality tracks can be streamed over Wi-Fi, Bluetooth-connected devices are limited by bandwidth constraints. To bypass this limitation, Spotify Connect can be utilized to link to compatible devices from brands like Bose, Yamaha, and Bluesound for Wi-Fi streaming. Apple has also expressed concerns regarding Bluetooth’s bandwidth restrictions for high-quality music streaming.
Competition in the Lossless Music Streaming Landscape
Spotify’s entry into the lossless music streaming arena comes after rivals like Apple Music and Amazon Music have already introduced similar offerings. Apple Music implemented lossless streaming in 2021, while Amazon Music made its lossless streaming free subsequent to the launch of a paid HD tier in 2019. Spotify has stated that the launch encompasses “nearly every track” in its extensive library of 100 million songs, although some tracks may not yet support lossless quality.