In a musical market more and more in crisis, the announcement of the main streaming service could restore enthusiasm to the sector in a very complicated moment. After years of delays and vacuum ads, in the coming weeks Spotify will begin to offer audio files in format losslessa leap forward in terms of audio quality that will make the songs indistinguishable from those of a cd. The Swedish company, eager to keep the leadership in the sector, will offer these files a All paid customerswithout the overexted surcharges by many users. So let’s see what it is and when this important novelty will also be available in Italy.
How the lossless will work
The announcement of the Swedish company puts an end to beyond four years of waitinggiven that the hypothesis of an extra subscription that allowed access to these higher quality files had arrived in 2021 but it is still a way for Spotify to approach the main competitors. For some years, in fact, Both Apple and Amazon include quality lossless in their standard packages. Since Spotify is available all over the world, access to high quality files was chopped From here to October: the first users to be able to take advantage of this function will be those of the main markets, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan, but Italy should follow shortly. The individual users with Premium subscription will receive a notification as soon as the service is available but they will have to activate it manually.
The procedure is quite simple: just access the settings of your profile and click on the section “Quality of the media”. In addition to the current options, which limit the quality of the 320 Kbps MP3 files, the option will also be available lossless: these files will use it 24 -bit and 44.1 khz standardsexactly the characteristics of a normal cd. Listening will be available on smartphones, desktops and tablets but also on many audio devices of the main brands if compatible with Spotify Connect. Some point out that the lossless of Spotify is not the same as the hi-res Available, for example, on Apple Music, but these high loyalty files often require specific hardware e quite expensive To be listened to.
A compulsory choice
The idea of offering the paid customers of Spotify a plan dedicated to high audio loyalty had been announced the first time in 2021 but the Swedish company It had been out of overtaking First by Apple Music with his Spatial Audio and then from Tidal and Amazon Music, who included high quality files without additional costs. Spotify had circulated details on more expensive plans dedicated to audiophiles to check the possibility of collecting more money but, in the end, It is not made of anything. Hostile reactions to the hypothesis of an extra cost for the lossless At the beginning of 2025 they convinced Spotify to offer the service to all paid customers.
In reality, the choice of the company was also caused by many disputes who involved both the founder Daniel Ek, who ended up in the sights of criticism for having invested in a company that deals with military drones but also the controversy with artistsfurious for cuts at royalties which are guaranteed by the platform. With the #boycottspotify trend that is becoming increasingly popular, the list of artists who have decided to abandon Spotify is lengthening day after day. It remains to be understood whether this move, aimed at gaining the paid users, on which Spotify it counts more and more Given the decline in advertising recesses, it will be enough to prevent the defections from continuing.
A model increasingly in crisis
If on the one hand Spotify declares to have 696 million users276 million of which are subscribed to the Premium version, the choice to diversify the offer by focusing more and more on audio and video podcasts, starting from the superstar Joe Rogan, Not ha given the desired results. If market leadership is not in doubt, the reputation of the service with users has been shock several times Over the years from problems, disservices and too many controversies. Many analysts point out how to include the lossless in the paid package is a move that arrived with years of delay Compared to competitors: since the sales of physical supports are now at the minimum terms, the high quality is considered a standard requirement Forever more and more music of music.
The news comes after Spotify’s black Friday last July, when the actions of the Swedish company are 11% collapsed After the results of the second quarter were much lower than the forecasts. Despite a 10% increase in turnover compared to 2024, the profits fell from 225 million assets to 86 million losses.
Spotify explained these disappointing results with the increase in costs related to staff, marketing as well as 115 million euros for “social costs”: the forecasts of analysts on the third quarter of the year are equally problematicso much so that the company could offer high fidelity files in the future as an additional package. It remains to be understood how much appetite can be, considered how many users are tired of Too many season tickets And they are abandoning streaming services.