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: #primary rivals #apple music #pricing hasn #premium plan #audiobook

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Picador beats seven publishers to debut

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 01/09/2011 - 15:00 Picador has won an eight-way auction for an American debut set primarily in 1950s America, snapping up the title and one other for a six-figure sum. Editorial director Kate Harvey acquired Tigers in Red Weather by Liza... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #six-figure sum #tale told


Hamish Hamilton acquires Naqvi debut

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 30/08/2011 - 08:00 Hamish Hamilton has acquired Home Boy by H M Naqvi, winner of the inaugural DSC Prize for South Asian Literature in January this year. Publishing director Simon Prosser bought British Commonwealth rights from Margaret... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #margaret halton #originally published #harpercollins india


French and Watson lead strong first half for debuts

Written By: Philip Stone and Graeme Neill Publication Date: Wed, 24/08/2011 - 08:31 Dawn French and S J Watson are the most successful debut novelists of the year so far across paperback and hardback, with debut novels generally having a more successful year than 2010. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #successful year #philip stone


Vintage snaps up two debuts

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 19/08/2011 - 10:24 Vintage has acquired two debuts, each to be published in spring 2012, with one by a Danish author living in Australia, and the other by an author born in Hong Kong and now living in the US. Editor Alison Hennessey has... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hong kong #bought uk #angharad kowal #writers house


AUDIO: 'Ebooks could threaten writing'

Booker Prize winning author Graham Swift believes digital publishing could threaten the livelihood of authors in the future because they are being paid too little. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2011-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Stockett first debut in Kindle Million Club

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 16/08/2011 - 14:41 Kathryn Stockett has become the first debut author to join the Kindle Million Club after selling over a million copies of her novel The Help (Penguin). Janet Evanovich, Headline Review author of the Stephanie Plum novels, has... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #million copies #janet evanovich #james patterson #nora roberts #charlaine harris #lee child #suzanne collins #michael connelly #john locke #million ebooks


Indie publishers ready digital editions and reprints after Booker fillip

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 27/07/2011 - 09:10 The smaller publishers whose titles have been selected for the Man Booker longlist, including Seren Books, Sandstone Press and Oneworld, are preparing to reprint the titles and release digital versions to meet the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #smaller publishers #sandstone press


Transworld readies Reacher digital exclusive

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 20/07/2011 - 14:40 Transworld is to release a digital exclusive Jack Reacher story based on the famous "butt-kicker's" time as a thirteen year old living on a military base. It said it was the first time it had published a major author in digital... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #military base #short work


Headline preempts debut about child abduction

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 18/07/2011 - 12:15 Headline has pre-empted a debut novel about a man's whose nine month old daughter is abducted by carjackers in South Africa. Publisher at large Martin Fletcher bought world rights to Held Up by Christopher Radmann from Juliet... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #child abduction #south africa #juliet mushens


Cinchcast Launches Audio Platform Cloud Solution for Digital Publishers

Cinchcast, whose technology has been used by BlogTalkRadio since 2006, released a cloud-based audio solution for digital publishers. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #digital publishers


"Spotify for books" service launches

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 30/06/2011 - 15:58 An online view-on-demand books service dubbed “the Spotify of books” has launched today. 24symbols, created by a Spanish team co-founded by Justo Hidalgo, is offering access to 1,000 book titles for a subscription fee. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #read books #service launches #launched today #justo hidalgo #offering access #offers customers


AUDIO: The 'worrying' battle for books

Arts editor Will Gompertz's second report into the impact of technology on the publishing industry Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2011-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #arts editor #publishing industry


AUDIO: Are traditional books doomed?

Sara Lloyd, Pan Macmillan: "The basic process of writing will stay quite stable, but the authors who will do particularly well are ones who think about how to build a digital audience." Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2011-06-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #sara lloyd #pan macmillan #digital audience


Vintage launches digital campaign for debut

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 25/05/2011 - 14:12 Vintage Publishing's Harvill Secker is launching a digital marketing campaign for one of its autumn debuts, The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, teaming up with Failbetter Games. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #harvill secker #night circus #erin morgenstern


Authors readied to support strong Independent Booksellers Week

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 25/05/2011 - 08:45 Edmund de Waal, Maggie O’Farrell and Tony Parsons are among the authors lined up to take part in Independent Booksellers Week. The week of events, in association with the Booksellers Association, will take place between... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #booksellers association #authors lined #tony parsons


HC to publish final Michael Crichton title this November

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 24/05/2011 - 09:00 HarperCollins will publish this November the novel Michael Crichton was working on when he died in 2008. Described as a "high-concept thriller in the vein of Jurassic Park", Micro is co-written by Richard Preston. It follows a... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #high-concept thriller #jurassic park #richard preston


Aurum reaches final frontier with Star Trek book

Written By: Katie Allen Publication Date: Tue, 24/05/2011 - 15:17 Aurum Press has bought a book delving into archive material from science fiction television show Star Trek. Commissioning editor Sam Harrison acquired UK and Commonweath rights to Star Trek Vault: 40 years from the Archives from... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Getting the Word Out: Audio Book Marketing 2011

The Audio Publishers Association is set to kick off its 14th annual June Is Audiobook Month campaign, designed to celebrate the industry and bring greater awareness of audiobooks. As formats and consumer habits have changed over the past 10 years—sometimes dramatically—audio publishers have kept... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #consumer habits


AUDIO: Are ebooks killing off paper books?

The Publishers Association have released new figures which explain how much damage ebooks are doing to their paper based alternatives. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2011-05-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #paper books #publishers association


Headline acquires debut Poppy Gee

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 28/04/2011 - 11:31 Headline has acquired a debut literary suspense novel by Australian writer Poppy Gee. Publishing director Imogen Taylor bought world English rights from Julia Kenny at Markson Thoma, with Andrea Walker at Reagan Arthur... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #andrea walker #young girl #tim winton