Hi-Res Streaming 'New Norm' on Pricing Moves by Amazon, Apple

Apple Music is adding Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos to a basic subscription, said the company Monday. An individual monthly plan is $9.99, $14.99 for families. Apple also has bundle plans with its games, news, TV, storage and fitness services. Due to the large file sizes and bandwidth needed for lossless and hi-res, subscribers will need to opt in to the experience, Apple said.

Apple Music will also make its catalog of more than 75 million songs available in lossless audio using the Apple Lossless Audio Codec. The lossless tier starts at 16-bit/44.1 kHz CD quality, goes up to 24-bit at 48 kHz and is playable natively on Apple devices, it said. Hi-Resolution Lossless requires an external digital-to-analog converter for playback. To start listening to Lossless Audio, subscribers using the latest version of Apple Music can turn it on in settings where they can choose different resolutions for different connections such as cellular, Wi-Fi or for download, said the company.

The Amazon Music HD price is now $7.99 monthly for Prime members, $9.99 for nonmembers and $14.99 for the family plan. The Amazon Music HD tier was previously an additional $5 per month, said Amazon Monday. For current subscribers to Amazon Music HD, there will be no extra charge for HD starting with their next billing cycle.

Amazon’s move to knock down the cost of its premium music service to standard music streaming subscription prices “doesn’t come as a surprise,” Futuresource analyst Alexandre Jornod told us Monday, after Amazon said it’s giving new and existing subscribers access to its 70-million track CD-quality library and its 7 million lossless 24-bit/192-kHz tracks at standard-definition prices. For Amazon, “it is key to remain competitive and Apple offering the same features but without additional cost could involve Amazon Music HD subscribers switching to Apple Music if Amazon was not matching the price,” said Jornod. Amazon already was positioning itself as a cheaper alternative to other lossless streaming services, offering Music HD at $14.99 monthly, $12.99 for Prime members, vs. $19.99 for hi-res competitors Qobuz and Tidal.

Amazon Music HD streamers will also get Amazon Music HD songs remixed in 3D audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and Sony 360RA, said the company. Amazon positioned its Echo Studio smart speaker as compatible with the hi-res music, along with Sony’s RA5000 and RA3000 speakers via Alexa Cast. The move could accelerate adoption of Amazon Music HD and the $199 Echo Studio smart speaker, said Jornod.

Spotify announced plans for a hi-res service in second-half 2021 but hasn’t spelled out details. Colliers analyst Steven Frankel expects Spotify to launch hi-res without an upcharge, too, he wrote investors Monday. Spotify didn't respond to questions. Frankel called Monday's news a "material catalyst" for Atmos adoption, another example of the "virtuous cycle that drives Dolby's business."

The lower cost pricing for Amazon and Apple lossless subscriptions is more challenging for companies such as Qobuz and Tidal, “even though they have already established a base of users, notably amongst audiophiles,” said Jornod. Qobuz had “no comment” to our questions on Amazon’s and Apple’s moves Monday. Tidal didn’t respond to questions. Jornod called the announcements from both companies “great news for the wider audio business as well with lossless now becoming the new norm!”