Spotify launches lossless audio for premium users
Steaming giant Spotify have launched their new lossless high-quality audio for premium users.
The new listening experience is set to arrive in over 50 markets in October, and will be available at no extra cost for users who are already subscribed to premium. Almost every track on the platform will be able to listen to at up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC.
Gustav Gyllenhammar, VP of subscriptions at Spotify, said in a statement, “The wait is finally over; we’re so excited lossless sound is rolling out to Premium subscribers.”
Gyllenhammar continued, “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.”
In order to access lossless audio, users need to tap their profile icon in the top left of the Spotify app, go to settings and privacy before selecting media quality then choose where they want to enable lossless audio. Notifications will be sent out to users once the new feature becomes available in their market.
The hi-fi sound was first announced by Spotify four years ago at their Stream On event in 2021. However, Apple Music rolled out its own version shortly afterwards, as did Amazon Music.
In recent months, many artists have chosen to withdraw their music from the streaming platform. Hotline TNT are among the latest to boycott Spotify, explaining to fans, “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.”
In July, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, who have since put their back catalogue on Bandcamp, led the charge of bands removing their work from Spotify. The Australian band shared: “A PSA to those unaware: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek invests millions in AI military drone technology. We just removed our music from the platform.”
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