It currently feels like the Spotify team are on the longest prank ever, with bets on at HQ for how many times they can talk about the fact Spotify HiFi / Supremium / a high-res tier of Spotify's streaming service is coming, without it actually manifesting.
Now, despite the fact it was officially announced more than three years ago (and first teased more than seven years ago), Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has described a higher quality Spotify as being "in early days". Yes, you read that right – early days.
The HiFi tier was once again discussed on an earnings call on Tuesday, in which the streaming giant announced it had surpassed expected subscriber numbers since the introduction of its Basic tier in June, and hit 246 million paying users. But as to when Spotify HiFi would appear, Ek was as vague as ever.
“The plan here is to offer much a much better version of Spotify,” said Ek on the call. “Think something like $5 above the current premium tier. So it’s probably around a $17 or $18 price point, but sort of a deluxe version of Spotify that has all of the benefits that the normal Spotify version has, but a lot more control, a lot higher quality across the board, and some other things that I’m not ready to talk about just yet.
"We’re quite excited about it, but it’s early days."
Is being "not ready to talk about" it Spotify's code for "we don't really know just yet?" It's starting to feel that way, though the pricing Ek mentions would line up with the recent Bloomberg story, which described a higher quality music-based "add on" for $5 more a month.
However, if Ek's vague comments are anything to go by, it seems like we might be waiting a little longer than we had originally thought.
MORE:
Spotify HiFi: release date news, price prediction, quality, and latest rumours
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