Spotify is preparing to launch a Hi-Fi music tier

Spotify is preparing to launch a lossless audio version of its streaming service, according to multiple sources. The offering, which is currently called Spotify Hi-Fi, will offer lossless CD-quality audio to users — similar to what Tidal offers in its Hi-Fi service.

The streaming service began running a test on a small group of users yesterday, offering the Hi-Fi service for $5 to $10 above the $10 per month price for Spotify Premium. But a source and a few Reddit users who got the prompt and tried to sign up for the Hi-Fi service were either told it wasn’t available in their area at the time or they received an error message.

While the offerings look to be an A/B test for its pricing strategy, Spotify’s move to lossless audio quality isn’t totally unexpected. With Apple choosing the Lightning connector over the headphone jack and Android manufacturers switching to USB-C at a rapid pace, there are now millions of smartphone owners who can experience lossless audio wherever they are.

And if Spotify has any luck converting a portion of its 40 million paying customers, the additional revenue could finally push the company into profitability. With the company already offering details of the Hi-Fi service to a small subset of users, a wider launch shouldn’t be too far off.

When reached for comment, a Spotify spokesperson said, “We are always testing new products and offers but have no news to share at this time.”