Do people really want Hi-Fi streaming?
Image credit: Ingo Schulz
As Spotify continues years-long anticipation of introducing high-fidelity streaming to its service, do we even want it?
We’ve been waiting years for Spotify to add Hi-Fi quality streaming. Spotify announced that lossless audio would be added to their platform in 2021. 3 years later and we’re still waiting, with the latest from CEO Daniel Ek saying that it’s “early days” for Hi-Fi.
In that time, competitors Apple Music and Amazon Music both added Hi-Fi quality streaming as a free addition to subscribers. Now that users have access to it, it seems that people didn’t really care as much as we once thought about high-fidelity streaming.
A recent report by Luminate explored what music streamers look for in their services. They found that High-Fidelity audio has actually become less of a priority since it became widely available in 2021. 37% of paying music streaming users named high quality music a priority in 2021. In 2024, that has dropped to just 31%.
For users considering changing their streaming service in the coming months, it was way down the list of priorities. Churn users (those looking to switch platforms) are much more interested in extra content like videos, TV, livestreams, and exclusive artist content.
Why isn’t Hi-Fi music more popular?
Back in 2021, there seemed to be an expectation on Hi-Fi streaming. Many consumers thought it was as simple as getting better quality music. When Apple brought it to Apple Music customers at no extra cost debates arose as to how many listeners were actually benefitting from the addition.
Hi-Fi streaming requires vastly more data consumption than regular streaming but only users with high-quality equipment will really gain anything from the difference. Average earphones and headphones, even many regular stereo setups are not compatible with Hi-Fi streaming.
There are many arguments then, as to why Hi-Fi streaming isn’t quite as attractive a package as once thought: Most casual users won’t benefit, it eats into data plans, the higher data transfers have more environmental impact, etc.
You can see in Spotify how much Hi-Fi has had an impact. Numerous leaks have suggested they will introduce higher quality streaming but as of yet we still have no confirmed date for it. Yet, Spotify continues to grow at an astonishing rate maintaining its position as the world’s favourite music streaming service.
Spotify are clearly in a position where they can add a benefit by introducing Hi-Fi, but it isn’t having an impact on their success. Hi-Fi streamers Apple Music and Amazon Music are successful, but in no way match Spotify’s dominance in the market.
Spotify likely also delayed their launch of Hi-Fi after Apple and Amazon added it as a free feature. As Spotify have clawed to make a profit (which they achieved in the last quarter), they presumably can’t afford the extra costs of Hi-Fi without charging more.
Ek has revealed that their solution is to offer a “deluxe” tier. This will include Hi-Fi but will also offer more new features. Leaks and rumours suggest that other features will include exclusive AI music controls and superfan content.