Spotify plans to roll out lossless audio at 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC to Premium users over the next two months in 50 markets, without needing a pricier subscription
What is it, how to activate and more Business Today : Spotify launches lossless audio for Premium users after years of delay Joey Sneddon / OMG! Ubuntu : Spotify Finally Adds Lossless Audio Streaming Option GSMArena.com : Spotify starts rolling out lossless audio feature Geoff Desreumaux / WeRSM : Spotify Finally Delivers Lossless Streaming For Premium Users Jade Bryan / nextpit : Spotify Suddenly Sounds Different—And You May Not Even Know Why Keagan Ostop / NBC Bay Area : Spotify adds new lossless listening feature. Here's how to use it Bradly Shankar / MobileSyrup : Spotify finally launches lossless audio Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch : Spotify is finally launching support for lossless music streaming Chris Cooke / CMU : Spotify finally adds lossless audio to premium Moneycontrol : Spotify finally brings lossless audio at no extra cost to users but there's a catch Melissa Hernandez De La Cruz / WJXX-TV : Spotify releases long-awaited lossless audio feature. Here's what to know and how to enable it Tyler Lee / Android Headlines : Spotify Lossless Arrives with HiFi Music Streaming for Premium Users Jen Mills / Metro.co.uk : Spotify finally adds feature that other streaming platforms have had for ages Kristian Kask / PCWorld : Spotify brings ultra-quality ‘lossless audio’ to all Premium subscribers Conor Murray / Forbes : Here's Why Your Spotify Music Might Suddenly Sound Much Better Jibin Joseph / PCMag : It Took 4 Years, But Lossless Audio Finally Arrives on Spotify. Here's How to Get It Rishaj Upadhyay / Windows Report : How to Enable Lossless Audio on Spotify Amber Neely / AppleInsider : Spotify Premium subscribers can now stream in lossless quality after years of waiting Craig Donaldson / Pocket-lint : Lossless audio finally comes to Spotify - here's how to enable it Eddie Fu / Consequence : Spotify Finally Launches Hi-Fi Audio at No Extra Cost Omar Gallaga / CNET : Lossless Audio Finally Arrives for Spotify Premium Subscribers. Here's How to Enable It Harrison Brocklehurst / The Tab : Right, Spotify just released ‘Lossless’ music playback - here's what that actually means Cory Gunther / How-To Geek : Spotify Finally Joins the Hi-Res Streaming Party Taylor Bushey / GB News : Spotify finally releases highly demanded feature after 4-year wait, but there's a catch Ben Schoon / 9to5Google : Spotify adds lossless 24-bit audio quality, first promised in 2021, at no added cost Carrie Marshall / TechRadar : Spotify Lossless is way overdue and very welcome - if you have the hardware to hear it Laurent Giret / Thurrott : Spotify Starts Rolling Out Lossless Streaming to Premium Members Dylan Smith / Digital Music News : Spotify Finally Adds Lossless Audio for Paid Users — Is the ‘Super-Premium’ Tier Next? Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends : At last, Spotify gets lossless music streaming Kris Holt / Engadget : Spotify lossless streaming is finally here and it's included with a Premium plan Jack Wallen / ZDNET : Spotify's long-awaited lossless music is finally here - how to enable it today Rajesh Pandey / Android Police : Spotify finally launches its long-awaited lossless tier Stan Schroeder / Mashable : OMG, Spotify actually launched lossless audio, and it comes with Premium tier Steve Vegvari / iPhone in Canada : Spotify is Finally Beginning to Roll Out Lossless Audio for Premium Members José Adorno / BGR : Spotify Adds Lossless Streaming For Premium Members At No Extra Cost Rik Henderson / T3 : Spotify Lossless is here at last - and it's a free upgrade Kob Monney / Trusted Reviews : Four years late, Spotify Lossless has finally arrived Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net : Spotify starts offering lossless, high-quality music streams Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority : Spotify finally rolls out Lossless audio — here's how to turn it on Tim Hardwick / MacRumors : Spotify Premium Users Get Lossless Streaming After Years of Delays Mandy Dalugdug / Music Business Worldwide : Spotify is finally launching lossless - but it's not part of a ‘super premium’ tier Kristin Robinson / Billboard : Spotify's HiFi Listening Feature Is Here (Finally) Stuart Dredge / Music Ally : Spotify adds lossless music - but it's not part of a superfan tier Ethan Millman / The Hollywood Reporter : Spotify Is Finally Launching Lossless Audio For Premium Subscribers Todd Spangler / Variety : Spotify Finally Launches HD Lossless Audio for Premium Subscribers Abid Ahsan Shanto / Notebookcheck : Spotify launches lossless music streaming with no extra cost X: @l4ncelotlin : oh my god spotify actually got bullied out of making lossless a new subscription tier [image] @spotifyreminder : It only took @Spotify 1662 days to deliver on HiFi (aka lossless) [image] @phoenix_wor : @Spotify Cool update 👏 but Apple Music still has the edge: Hi-Res up to 24-bit/192kHz (vs Spotify's 24-bit/44.1kHz) Spatial Audio/Dolby Atmos Deep Apple ecosystem @lostincrave : i hate the way spotify rolls out their updates. some users have music videos, some have lossless audio, some have the AI dj, some have the AI crossfade, some have all of them, some have none. it's annoying @spotify : We're rolling out our best sound quality, Lossless, to Premium users. Find out more: https://newsroom.spotify.com/ ... [video] Dylan / @dylanmcd8 : But still no Atmos LOL LinkedIn: Simon Lucas : And we've waited how long for this lowest-of-the-high-resolutions, no-spatial-audio effort? — How does this make Spotify a credible alternative to … Bluesky: Chris Welch / @welch : News: Spotify Lossless is here. More than FOUR YEARS since being announced, today the music streaming service is rolling out the higher quality — up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC — to Premium subscribers in select markets. [image] Tom Warren / @tomwarren.co.uk : Spotify is finally adding lossless streaming after 8 years of teasing. Subscribers will be able to enjoy 24-bit / 44.1 kHz FLAC as part of their Premium plan www.theverge.com/spotify/7751... Threads: Daniel Ek / @eldsjal : Me now that Lossless is rolling out 😅 Forums: r/Fauxmoi : Spotify adds lossless streaming after 8 years of teasing r/audiofiliabrasil : Spotify vai adicionar o ‘Lossless’ para usuários premium. r/DigitalAudioPlayer : Lossless coming to Spotify r/BudgetAudiophile : Lossless Audio Coming to Spotify! No Reported Price Increase r/SonyHeadphones : Spotify finally released Hifi r/inearfidelity : Lossless Listening Arrives on Spotify Premium With a Richer, More Detailed Listening Experience — Spotify r/headphones : Spotify lossless is out! Available in select regions, more coming in October. r/entertainment : Spotify adds lossless streaming after 8 years of teasing r/spotify : Lossless Listening Arrives on Spotify Premium With a Richer, More Detailed Listening Experience — Spotify r/technology : Spotify adds lossless streaming after 8 years of teasing | Subscribers will be able to enjoy 24-bit / 44.1 kHz FLAC as part of their Premium plan. r/sonos : Spotify lossless coming to Sonos next month r/sonos : Spotify joins the Lossless party!
Context & Ripple Effects
Spotify first announced HiFi as a separate, higher-quality subscription in 2021, but the feature remained absent years later. Reporting in 2023 said Apple’s no-extra-charge lossless offering had undermined the case for a paid Spotify tier.
The rollout resolves that long delay by making lossless part of Premium rather than a new upsell. It therefore matters less as a new revenue product than as a parity and retention feature for Spotify’s existing paid base.
First-order effects
- Premium subscribers in the initial 50 markets gain access to up-to-24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC without changing plans or paying a separate audio-quality fee.
- Spotify abandons the delayed paid-HiFi positioning implied by its original 2021 HiFi announcement, absorbing the feature within the current Premium bundle instead.
Second-order effects
- Apple Music loses a straightforward audio-quality pricing distinction, while Spotify reduces a feature gap that had persisted through its multi-year launch delay.
- Including lossless in Premium raises Spotify’s delivery-cost exposure versus a higher-priced add-on, making efficient capacity management more relevant as adoption expands.
Third-order effects
- Lossless audio is increasingly likely to function as baseline paid-streaming capability rather than a durable standalone subscription tier, shifting competition toward the broader bundle and user experience.
- If platforms continue folding technically differentiated features into existing plans, premium-tier design will favor benefits with clearer willingness to pay than audio fidelity alone.
The trend: Music-streaming services are turning once-premium format features into bundled table stakes to protect paid-subscriber value and competitive parity.