You hear that?
Spotify announced Wednesday that Lossless Listening, its newest audio format, is available for premium users in select countries, including the U.S.
Lossless audio files allow for listeners to stream music using the least compressed and highest resolution audio formats can have, the company said.
Previously, when a musician uploaded their work to a streaming platform, the files tended to get compressed and lose some quality due to the encoding process. Spotify says that with Lossless Listening, users will now be able to hear every detail within the audio file.
From the delicate plucking of an electric guitar to the subtle sample of someone speaking, this new feature will allow listeners to get a heightened sense of clarity and quality when playing their favorite tracks, Spotify said. Lossless works by capturing the recording’s original sound waves and putting them together to create an accurate reproduction of its initial quality.
“We’ve taken time to build this feature in a way that prioritizes quality, ease of use, and clarity at every step, so you always know what’s happening under the hood,” Gustav Gyllenhammar, Spotify’s vice president of subscriptions, said in a statement. “With Lossless, our premium users will now have an even better listening experience.”
Founded in 2006, Spotify has become the world’s most popular audio streaming service, garnering over 696 million users. Last year, the company posted a net income of more than $1.3 billion with revenue of $18.4 billion. That was its first annual net profit since the company started. The streamer, based in Sweden, is available in more than 180 markets and has a library of over 100 million tracks, almost 7 million podcast titles and 350,000 audiobooks.
Lossless Listening is currently only available for music.
This new feature comes several years after streaming competitors first introduced a similar feature. Subscribers to Apple Music and Amazon Music have had the capacity to listen to music in this format since 2021 and 2019, respectively.
On Spotify, the lossless files are larger than the standard formats, meaning the feature can not be used when connected to Bluetooth, as there’s not enough bandwidth to transmit. If attempted with Bluetooth, the file will be compressed and played at regular quality.
To use Lossless Listening on Spotify, premium users must enable it in their settings, and an icon will appear when listening.
It’s currently available for use on mobile, tablet and desktop. Spotify Premium costs $11.99 a month, while the standard version is free for use with ads.
The post Spotify introduces its newest audio format: Lossless Listening appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
