It looks like we’re turning a corner when it comes to music in higher fidelity
Up until the MP3 came along in the 1990s, the goal for any music fan was to be able to experience music that was as loud, clear, and accurate as possible. We spent thousands on audio systems for our homes and cars so we could have the best-sounding music possible.
MP3s killed that for a couple of generations. Convenience and portability trumped proper high-fidelity. We’ve now had a couple of generations which that not had a chance to listen to music delivered at the sonic quality that was common in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Streaming didn’t help–at least initially–because they delivered music in a compressed form and nowhere near CD quality. But that’s now changing.
Back in 2021, Apple Music made the call to begin offering lossless-quality audio at no extra charge. That was followed by Amazon Music, which did the same, erasing its higher-priced “HD” subscription. And now Tidal, one of the first (if not the first) platforms to offer high-resolution audio streams, has killed off its premium audio tier.
Tidal says it will now offer a single $10.99 subscription that will include all the Hi-Res, Dolby ATMOS and lossless FLAC tracks. No more $19.99 a month for better sound. The company says that this is available to music fans in 61 countries. The catalogue features 110 million such tracks.
This is brilliant news. It shows that we’re heading back to an era of proper, accurate, clean, clear music listening. Bring it on.
Uh, Spotify? Where’s your “HiFi” tier? You know you’re not going to charge extra for it now, right?
Tidal also pays the artists the most over any other streaming service.
My question is why are these companies bothering to put so much effort – and presumably money – into Hi-Res audio?
I see more and more people in the streets, in cafe’s and in the office blasting all sounds – music, conference calls, etc. – out of the crappy speakers on their smartphones, tablets and laptops . No headphones or earbuds in sight. If people are so willing to accept such terrible sound quality and apparently honestly believe the rest of us want to hear it reproduced that way too, whether the source is Hi-Res, MP3 or any other format is irrelevant.
I’m 100% in favour of Hi-Res audio. As long as we all get the chance to listen to only what we signed up to listen to at the quality we ask for