Is Spotify's price rise a joke?

[Witterings]

I mainly listen to music via ripped and burned cds, also use Youtube (great reference point). Recently I have been listening to Spotify for free. I like the increase in sound quality, also like the way spotify second guesses the music I may like by suggesting playlists. Thanks to spotify I have discovered many other artists. Ofcourse this is all for free. I am just wondering if I enlisted Qubuz or Tidal or other high res music would the difference in sound quality from Spotify be obvious to the demand of increase in cost monthly in a direct debit situation? The pop up ads were a nuisance in the beginning but now I just expect them because I don't know any different (apart to listening Cds). So maybe all other services may not be worth the money...?

As soemone else mentioned some of the other services offer free trials such as Qobuz and Amazon, give them a try and see how they compare, the equipment you're playing it through will have to be good enough to appreciate the difference as well.

 

[Al ears]

Spotify's £1 price increase for Premium while delaying promised hi-res streaming raises skepticism, and some users question its competitiveness in the market.

Even with the increase it is not outside the other providers in this marketplace, I very much doubt anyone is likely to leave Spotify because of it.

 

[Revolutions]

I think that might be a bot…

 

[Al ears]

I think that might be a bot…

You are correct.
Sorted, thanks.

 

[Romulus]

Thank you all for your responses. The idea to test out free trials from other services is a good one, I will try it out. The equipment played through is the original Ifi Zen Dac (so far very happy with it and is built so well for the price) via Beyerdynamic Headphones DT 990 PRO 250 ohms and DT 770 PRO 80ohms connected to a laptop.

 

[Rodolfo]

Can you share the best speakers that support Spotify Connect? What device are you using now?

I didn't have speakers, as such. I was using a Spotify Connect-equipped desktop internet radio, when I had Premium. It's a now-discontinued Auna Connect 150. I still use it as an internet radio and it still works fine and sounds truly great with its 3 built-in speakers. I got it through Amazon.com, of course, and it's still listed, though as unavailable, with plenty of good reviews, including mine: https://www.amazon.com/auna-Connect-Internet-Spotify-Control/dp/B074DW4KMT

It's been unavailable for many months, whenever I've looked. Maybe ebay for those interested. BTW, not sure that it would support HD, which Spotify is finally starting to offer, as I've read. (I saw another tabletop model on Amazon for which the description read that HD was not supported.)

Sorry: I never shopped for, nor know of, spotify connect-equipped speakers.

P.S., The Auna is not "battery powered" as it reads, though a Very handy remote control it comes with is.

 

[manicm]

One thing I can say, is that Spotify has the best usability and interface of all the streaming services I've tried.

My beef with Apple Music is that only Sonos currently supports native WiFi streaming or 'connect' for it.

 

[podknocker]

I remember downloading mp3 files from a site now long gone and I had to pay 99p per track.

I'm now paying £10.99 a month for Spotify and I think it's a bargain.

I have access to 81 million tunes and podcasts and I can listen to any of them by double clicking my mouse.

I can play them 24/7 and there are no interruptions from adverts or other garbage.

I can't think of an easier, or cheaper way to access the entire planet's music database.

There are rumours a HIFI package is to be released and this could cost £19.99 a month.

This seems like good value, when you can have all this music and at CD quality.

The kit I'm using will defo be able to resolve the increase in quality and I would pay for it.

I also find the AI DJ feature useful. It's offered me so much great music, I would never look for.

 

[abacus]

There are rumours a HIFI package is to be released and this could cost £19.99 a month.

This seems like good value, when you can have all this music and at CD quality.

The kit I'm using will defo be able to resolve the increase in quality and I would pay for it.

I also find the AI DJ feature useful. It's offered me so much great music, I would never look for.

Except other streaming services like Apple and Amazon etc. have HD & Hi res for the same or less than the current premium Spotify price.

Bill

 

[podknocker]

I don't want to use Apple and I did try Amazon for a month and I hated the site/interface.

Also struggled to find tracks I can find on Spotify and Spotify has a great interface.

I think the HIFI tier will happen and hopefully at a similar price to the competition.

 

[AJM1981]

I am ok with the minor price change, I use it a lot. What I don't really like is that as a premium user I get repeated ads for the 'family package' or whatever it is called. My wife and I share one spotify premium account and there is no practical need to be connected separately.

 

[Cricketbat70]

I am ok with the minor price change, I use it a lot. What I don't really like is that as a premium user I get repeated ads for the 'family package' or whatever it is called. My wife and I share one spotify premium account and there is no practical need to be connected separately.

I don't have that problem,my son pays for the family account and the Disney+ account. 🤣

 

[abacus]

I am ok with the minor price change, I use it a lot. What I don't really like is that as a premium user I get repeated ads for the 'family package' or whatever it is called. My wife and I share one spotify premium account and there is no practical need to be connected separately.

I haven't had premium for a couple of years or so, but when I did, I did not get any ads at all for anything, how times change.

Bill

 

[manicm]

Contrary to popular belief, Spotify Hifi is not launching anytime soon. This is from the horse's mouth. Suddenly Tidal looks like super value now.

 

[matthewpianist]

Think about how much money a subscription saves you. No more disappointing CDs or vinyl, just the music you've already tried and know you will listen to in future. That £10.99 is less than the price of one CD and considerably less than an LP. Why risk filling your shelves with physical releases which you might not like when you can test music out and then buy only the stuff that really hits home?

 

[podknocker]

Think about how much money a subscription saves you. No more disappointing CDs or vinyl, just the music you've already tried and know you will listen to in future. That £10.99 is less than the price of one CD and considerably less than an LP. Why risk filling your shelves with physical releases which you might not like when you can test music out and then buy only the stuff that really hits home?

All formats have finite capability, but vinyl and CD are old, tired formats.

I'm not sure why people don't want to embrace modern ways of doing things.

With the right files, streaming gives you recording studio quality music.

 

[abacus]

With the right files, streaming gives you recording studio quality music.

But you don't own it, so it can disappear at any time.

Bill

 

[podknocker]

But you don't own it, so it can disappear at any time.

Bill

This is true, but I doubt these streaming platforms will vanish, or price themselves out of the market.

My internet goes now and then, so I play a CD, but this is so rare, that I would never start buying CDs again.

Most of the music I listen to online cannot be found on CD, or any other physical format.

It's years since I bought a CD and I don't even look for my favourite tunes on CD anymore.

 

[matthewpianist]

But you don't own it, so it can disappear at any time.

Bill

There is always that risk, and there's a core of music that I will always retain on physical media, but all it takes is a flood, fire or unexpected life changes to take a physical collection away. Nothing is infallible.

 

[podknocker]

The choice and ease of use with Spotify are incredible and I can listen to music via several devices.

I'm struggling to understand the fascination with CD, never mind vinyl and all the faffing around.

The ownership theme does appear very frequently on this forum, but I'm not fussed about owning CDs.

I used to download pictures and stuff from the internet and had various HDs full of films etc.

My latest PC has a 512Gb SSD and with the O/S and all my files, it's still only 25% full.

I got over the owning/hoarding mindset and all my resources can be accessed online.

I'm not going to benefit from having physical media cluttering up the living room.

I'm confident I can always access some sort of music, even if it's just an online radio station.

Music is a huge part of my daily routine, but I'm not that obsessed or precious about it.

 

[matthewpianist]

My primary streaming app is currently TIDAL, mostly because of the high resolution. Direct comparisons with the same album on TIDAL Hi-Fi Plus and Spotify demonstrate very worthwhile differences to me.

For classical and jazz I use Presto Classical. Currently I can only use aptX for that, but it's by far the best app for navigating new releases in both genres and it still sounds pretty good. I know they are working on integration with streaming platforms to enable high resolution quality.