Spotify Finally Brings Lossless Streaming to Premium

Lossless audio on Spotify has lived in the rumor mill for years, sparking leaks, Reddit threads, and even jokes about whether it would ever ship. Today, Spotify has officially confirmed that the long-awaited feature is finally here for Premium subscribers, at least in some parts of the world.

Spotify says lossless is now rolling out to Premium listeners in more than 50 markets this October, starting with countries like the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and Australia. Kenya, unfortunately, isn’t part of this first batch, but the company promises more regions will be added through October and beyond.

For those unfamiliar, lossless audio means music streams in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC, a quality level close to what artists hear in the studio. Songs sound fuller, more detailed, and less compressed compared to the “Very High” quality most of us have been stuck with. It’s been one of the most requested features on Spotify, especially after Apple Music added lossless streaming back in 2021 at no extra cost.

“The wait is finally over; we’re so excited lossless sound is rolling out,” said Gustav Gyllenhammar, Spotify’s VP of Subscriptions. He promised the rollout balances quality, ease of use, and clarity, making sure users know when they’re actually listening in lossless.

-Ad-

Still, there’s a catch: Bluetooth isn’t ready for lossless. Spotify admits that wireless headphones, even the pricey ones, can’t yet deliver true lossless sound, because Bluetooth compresses the signal before sending it over. To really hear the difference, you’ll need wired headphones, a decent DAC, or a supported speaker through Spotify Connect.

And yes, that means for most Kenyans (myself included), the feature won’t make much sense until it actually arrives here. But the fact that Spotify has finally flipped the switch is encouraging, especially since Kenya remains one of Africa’s most loyal Spotify markets.

For now, we’ll have to sit tight and watch Spotify users in the US, Europe, and Asia show off their lossless icons in screenshots. Hopefully, when the second wave rolls out in October, Kenya makes the cut. Because after years of waiting, the FOMO is real.