Spotify may be the biggest name in music streaming but, when it comes to audio quality, it still lags behind Apple Music and Amazon Music. That could soon change, if you're willing to pay for it. To expand its reach beyond audiophiles, Spotify reportedly plans to offer more than just better sound, with additional incentives including the ability to remix songs (likely using AI) and early access to concert tickets or better seats.
The forthcoming offering will reportedly cost up to an additional $5.99 per month. Seeing as Spotify doesn’t convert subscription prices based on currency, and instead uses price localisation, we can assume the new plan will cost an extra £5.99 in the UK. See also: The best noise cancelling headphones. That’s on top of the £11.99 per month Spotify charges for a premium subscription, which comes with several benefits over the free tier. Paying users can listen to music without ad breaks (though podcasts still come with adverts), download audio to listen offline, and access music on-demand with no limits on skips or track selection.
Notably, Spotify Premium users also currently get enhanced audio compared to those listening for free (320 kbps vs 160 kbps). By comparison, Spotify’s rivals offer significantly higher audio quality. Apple Music’s lossless audio streams at 124-bit/192 kHz (similar to CD quality) at no extra charge, while Amazon Music’s Ultra HD reaches up to 3,730 kbps as part of its Unlimited plan (£10.99 for Amazon Prime members, £11.99 for everyone else).
Kbps (or kilobits per second) measures the amount of data used to stream music. The higher the number, the better the quality - though you may not notice the difference unless listening through pricey headphones or a high-end speaker setup. The new Spotify tier, which has been called “Supremium,” “Hi-Fi,” and “Music Pro” during its development, builds on Spotify’s fan service and pricing experiments.
Spotify already teams up with artists through its “Fans First” programme by giving their most ardent listeners advance access to tickets (similar to O2 Priority), exclusive merchandise, or invite-only events. Last summer, the platform partnered with pop chanteuse Sabrina Carpenter to provide her top listeners with exclusive seating at each leg of her North American tour. After hiking its price last May, Spotify quietly introduced a Basic tier for £1 less per month minus audiobook listening time.
