Spotify may finally be ready to debut a premium HiFi audio tier

Rumors about a Spotify HiFi tier have been around since at least 2017, and the company even announced plans to launch such a feature in 2021 — only to back off the next year. Now, the company may finally be ready to launch a high-fidelity plan (dubbed "Supremium" internally) that would be its most expensive tier, according to Bloomberg. The aim would be to drive more revenue and address investor demands that it raise its prices. Spotify reportedly delayed rolling out the plan back in 2021 as two of its primary rivals, Apple Music and Amazon Music, started including the feature for no charge in their standard plans.  In addition, Spotify may enhance its regular Premium offering with expanded audiobook access, either through a certain number of free hours per month or a specific number of books (with an option to purchase more). Audiobooks are currently only available on Spotify via individual purchases. There's no word on whether audio would be lossless at up to 24-bit and 192kHz, as it is on Apple Music and Amazon Music. Lossless audio generally doesn't work on Bluetooth speakers or headphones (including Apple's AirPods and AirPods Max), due to the high bandwidth, so users need a wired or WiFi setup.Pricing hasn't been revealed, either. Spotify has kept its Premium plan at $9.99/month in the US, unlike Apple and Amazon, which raised their rates to $10.99. CEO Daniel Ek said in a recent earnings call that the company tries to balance subscriber growth with revenue, so... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2023-06-20 12:38:47 UTC ]
News tagged with: #apple music #audiobook

Other news stories related to: "Spotify may finally be ready to debut a premium HiFi audio tier"


Spotify accuses Apple of impeding its fledgling audiobook business

Spotify launched its audiobook business just last month with 300,000 titles, but is now saying that Apple is engaging in "anticompetitive" behavior that is impinging the new business, the company wrote in a blog post. It said that Apple rejected its audiobook purchasing system three times due to... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2022-10-26 07:02:10 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #audiobook #european commission #app store


Frankfurter Buchmesse Stages Its Debut ‘Frankfurt Kids’ Conference

'You have to be what you want to be,' Scholastic's Peter Warwick tells the new Frankfurt Kids program. The post Frankfurter Buchmesse Stages Its Debut ‘Frankfurt Kids’ Conference appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2022-10-20 03:56:50 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #frankfurter buchmesse #conference appeared


Publishers, Internet Archive Ready for Summary Judgment Hearing in Book Scanning Case

A federal judge is now ready to hear arguments for summary judgment in a closely watched copyright case filed by four major publishers against the Internet Archives over its program to scan and lend library books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #summary judgment #federal judge #major publishers


RBmedia Buys German Audio Publisher

Landover, Md.-based audiobook publisher RBmedia has continued its push in the international market with the acquisition of John Verlag’s German-language audiobook catalog. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-10-06 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #audiobook #international market


Review: The follow-up to Namwali Serpell's debut novel is less grand — and better for it

Critics raved over 'The Old Drift,' Namwali Serpell's epic debut novel. Our critic prefers her more difficult, intimate follow-up, 'The Furrows.' Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-09-27 13:00:37 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #debut novel #namwali serpell #epic debut


It's Never Too Late: Seven Authors on Making Their YA Debuts After Age 50

These first-time authors are out to prove that life experience and hindsight are advantages when it comes to crafting riveting stories for teens. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-09-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #life experience


Recommended reading: Hilary Mantel’s review of Kate Atkinson’s debut novel.

By the time I read Hilary Mantel’s 1996 review of Kate Atkinson’s debut novel Behind the Scenes at the Museum in the London Review of Books, the novel had been a favorite of mine for over a decade. My mother gave me the book when I was in high school—both of us entirely unaware of […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-09-23 14:57:31 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #debut novel #kate atkinson #hilary mantel #recommended reading #london review


Spotify takes on Amazon with a huge leap into the audiobook business

With more than 300,000 audiobook titles available to purchase a la carte, Spotify says this is ‘just the beginning.’ After taking on Apple and Pandora, Spotify appears to be setting its sights on Amazon.Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2022-09-20 17:05:45 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #audiobook #audiobook business #huge leap


10 Fantasy Book Series For FINAL FANTASY Fans

Read these fantasy book series for FINAL FANTASY fans and enjoy a great narrative while giving your eyes a break from screen time. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-09-16 10:36:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #book series #screen time


At 9, Javier Zamora walked 4,000 miles to the U.S. At 29, he was ready to tell the story

Javier Zamora talks about "Solito," his harrowing memoir about journeying from El Salvador to the U.S. as an unaccompanied 9-year-old. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-09-15 14:00:30 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #memoir #el salvador #harrowing memoir


Amazon’s upgrades to its entry-level Kindle should finally silence critics

Last year, Amazon spiffed up the Kindle Paperwhite, infusing its mid-tier e-reader with an array of premium hardware upgrades. The tweaks were enough to push the humbler entry-level Kindle firmly out of the spotlight given its inferior screen, lower number of front light LEDs, and lack of... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2022-09-13 13:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #kindle #consumer electronics #parental controls #young readers #offers thousands #one-year subscription #unicorn valley


Rasheed Newson’s debut is entertainment with a side of education

"My Government Means to Kill Me" follows a gay, Black activist in 1980s New York. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-10 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Are we ready to poke fun at pandemic times? Christopher Buckley is.

Buckley’s “Has Anyone Seen My Toes?,” a novel about a screenwriter who’s gone off the rails, takes aim at pandemic-fueled neuroses. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-09-04 11:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #takes aim #pandemic times #christopher buckley


Review: Comics icon Grant Morrison's debut novel is a marvel of Oedipal camp

'Luda,' debut novel by veteran comics writer Grant Morrison, is a camp spectacular in which patriarchy is defined as a kind of magical Oedipal drag. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-09-02 15:30:56 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #debut novel


Tess Gunty has won the inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize.

Congratulations to Tess Gunty, whose critically acclaimed debut novel The Rabbit Hutch has just won the inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize. The novel (about four teenagers—recently aged out of the state foster-care system—living together in an apartment building in the post-industrial... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-08-26 15:48:11 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #debut novel #waterstones booksellers #rabbit hutch #tess gunty


July Religion Bestsellers: ‘Positive Thinking’ Hits #2; Debby Giusti’s Debut

Norman Vincent Peale, known as the father of positive thinking, takes #2 in Religion Nonfiction with his 60-year-old mega-bestseller, ‘The Power of Positive Thinking;’ Debby Giusti debuts at #2 on our Religion Fiction bestsellers list with her new Christian romance, ‘Soldier Protector.’ Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-10 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #christian romance #religion nonfiction #takes #2 #hits #2 #positive thinking


Pardis Mahdavi's Debut Memoir Quietly Canceled by Hachette

'This Goes Out to the Underground: A Mother, Her Daughter, and How We All Rise Together,' the debut memoir from Pardis Mahdavi, was canceled by Hachette Book Group shortly before its planned July 26 release. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-08-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #memoir #debut memoir


Undisputed “World’s Greatest Author” finally lands Big 5 publishing deal.

Yes, it’s Tingle Time. One of my all-time favorite literary personalities, the greatest self-published author to ever live, Chuck Tingle, has signed a two-novel deal with Tor’s Nightfire imprint. Per the Publishers Marketplace announcement, the first book, Camp Damascus, is about “a group of... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-07-29 15:04:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #self-published author


Podium Audio Buys Bookstat

The digital publisher Podium Audio has acquired Bookstat, the data subscription service that tracks online book purchases in physical, e-book, and audiobook formats. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #digital publisher #online book #audiobook #audiobook formats


In Final Briefs, DOJ, PRH Flesh Out Arguments Ahead of Trial

Attorneys for both parties filed a host of final briefs on July 22, including their individual pre-trial statements and briefs on a handful of lingering (but potentially significant) evidentiary question likely to be settled early this week. Oral arguments in the case are set to begin on August 1. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-07-24 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #oral arguments #final briefs