Spotify has announced that it’s rolling out lossless audio for its Premium subscribers. Long derided for its poor audio quality, the streaming service will start offering tracks in up to 24-bit and 44.1 kilohertz (kHz) FLAC beginning today, with more markets getting the feature in the coming weeks.
“The wait is finally over; we’re so excited lossless sound is rolling out to Premium subscribers,” said vice president of subscriptions Gustav Gyllenhammar. “We’ve taken time to build this feature in a way that prioritizes quality, ease of use, and clarity at every step, so you always know what’s happening under the hood. With Lossless, our premium users will now have an even better listening experience.”
Tidal launched in 2015 with a premium HiFi tier that streamed lossless CD-quality files (16-bit at 44.1 kHz). Amazon Music HD followed in 2019 with a collection of 50 million songs in CD-quality and a smaller library of high-resolution (24-bit and up to 192 kHz) files for an extra $5 per month for existing Amazon Music subscribers. In 2021 Apple Music started offering lossless CD quality and high-resolution streaming to all subscribers at no additional charge. After Apple Music launched its lossless service, Tidal added a free ad-supported tier, reduced the price of its HiFi tier, and added a HiFi plus tier, which allows for streaming Dolby Atmos, Sony 360 Reality Audio mixes, and high-resolution files in the Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) format.
Over the past few months, countless artists have pulled their music from Spotify, including Godspeed You! Black Emperor, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Xiu Xiu, Deerhoof, and Hotline TNT. In the recent wave of departures, many have cited the military investments made by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek through his venture capital fund Prima Materia. (Since 2021, Prima Materia has been investing in Helsing, a defense company that sells AI-using software to inform military decisions.)
“The company that bills itself as the steward of all recorded music has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that it does not align with the band’s values in any way,” said Hotline TNT frontman Will Anderson. “A cooler world is possible.” In the case of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, they took it a step farther by removing their music from all major streaming platforms.
Read the column “How to Dig for Music Without Spotify.”
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