Source: Spotify plans a more expensive “Supremium” tier with HiFi audio, audiobooks, and more, launching outside the US later in 2023; Premium costs $9.99/month
Spotify Technology SA is planning a more expensive subscription option that's expected to include high-fidelity audio …
Context & Ripple Effects
Spotify had already said it would introduce a lossless HiFi subscription in 2021, making this a renewed attempt to turn audio quality into a paid product distinction rather than a standalone feature.
Later coverage shows the idea persisted as a higher-priced plan with expanded tools and then a proposed Music Pro add-on, suggesting the core challenge was packaging enough benefits to support a higher monthly price.
First-order effects
- Spotify’s proposed tier would create a new paid rung above its $9.99 Premium plan outside the US, combining higher-fidelity audio with audiobooks and other benefits.
- The plan would give existing Premium subscribers a clearer upgrade decision while requiring Spotify to define which features remain in the base tier.
Second-order effects
- Bundling audiobooks with HiFi shifts the offer from a sound-quality upsell toward a broader entertainment bundle, raising the risk that benefits migrate upward from Premium.
- A successful higher tier would give Spotify a pricing and feature-packaging template for later premium offerings, as reflected in the subsequent plans for higher-priced and Music Pro products.
Third-order effects
- The move points to subscription services seeking revenue growth through tiering and differentiated bundles when a single flagship plan has limited room to expand.
- Whether that model endures depends on whether premium features create incremental upgrades rather than simply reshuffling existing subscribers into differently priced plans.
The trend: Spotify’s proposed Supremium tier is part of a broader shift from one-price subscriptions toward multi-tier bundles designed to monetize distinct levels of demand.