It’s been nearly three years since Spotify’s last major announcement, but they just had a pretty big one on Monday. A new subscription tier, podcast exclusives and new tools for artists and podcasters were all mentioned, so read on to find out more!
“Golden age of audio”
The biggest announcement was about their next-tier audio subscription called HiFi. Launching later this year in select markets for starters, it’s a feature that offers CD-quality sound with lossless compression format. Though no prices have been mentioned yet, we can expect it to be at around €15 when it does eventually launch in Malta.
Spotify is also working with world-leading speaker makers so their products will better support Spotify HiFi through Spotify Connect. Connect is a Spotify system that allows users to listen on speakers, TVs and other devices while using the Spotify app as a remote.
Backing the latest feature is none other than pop sensation Billie Eilish. “High-quality audio means more info,” she said. “There are things you will not hear if you don’t have a good sound system. It’s really important just because we make music that wants to be heard in the way that it was made.”
Artists & podcasts
A whole new raft of podcasts are on the way, including Renegades: Born in the USA, featuring former president Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen; Batman Unburied as part of a DC Comics partnership; and another deal with AGBO. The latter is the entertainment company led by Anthony and Joe Russo, the brothers behind Avengers Infinity War and End Game. The duo will create multiple podcast series for Spotify.
The event was also used to announce new and expanded tools for creators. The Spotify for Artists centre will open its Canvas looping visual to all artists, widen its Marquee marketing tool and launch Discovery Mode as a test later this year for more labels, which lets artists’ teams prioritize specific music that they want Spotify’s algorithms to favour.
What do you make of these developments? Let us know in the comments below!
