Spotify’s Deception: The Long-Awaited "HiFi" Disaster
In a shocking display of corporate negligence, Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek confirmed today that the company’s highly anticipated "HiFi" lossless audio streaming tier is still in the works – three years after its initial announcement. And to make matters worse, Ek revealed that the feature will now be bundled with other perks as an add-on to the premium subscription, essentially ripping off loyal customers who’ve been waiting for years.
But wait, it gets even better. Ek touted the new "deluxe" version of Spotify, which will cost a whopping $5 above the current premium tier, or a staggering $17-$18 per month. That’s right, Spotify wants to charge customers even more for the privilege of listening to their music in higher quality. It’s like they’re laughing at our wallets.
So, what’s the holdup? Was Spotify just caught flat-footed by Apple and Amazon’s higher-resolution audio offerings? Did they underestimate the competition and now feel the need to play catch-up? Whatever the reason, it’s clear that Spotify has lost all sense of urgency and customer satisfaction.
And don’t even get me started on Ek’s claim that "there’s a good subset of that group of 246 million subscribers that want a much better version of Spotify." Um, isn’t that just code for "we know our customers are willing to pay more for the same old service, so let’s milk them dry"?
It’s time for Spotify to stop promising the world and start delivering. Will we ever see the day when they actually prioritize their customers’ needs over their own profits? Until then, I’ll be over here, rolling my eyes at the incompetence of it all.
