Spotify Lossless: suddenly, it’s finally here

It’s been eight years since the initial announcement, but at long last, Spotify Lossless has arrived. You can now finally listen in CD+ quality.

Whether this is the long-awaited feature for the majority of Spotify subscribers is debatable. Lossless listening isn’t something most of the service’s target audience seems too concerned with. In fact, many people listen on the go — and in countries like the Netherlands, that often means burning through a limited mobile data plan. That’s why Spotify Lossless isn’t enabled by default; you’ll need to dive into the settings to turn it on. And if you’re on a restricted data plan and mostly listen outdoors, it’s smart to switch it off again before heading out.

Available now — or a little later

To activate Spotify Lossless, click on your profile icon in the Spotify app and go to Settings & Privacy. Then enable the option under Audio Quality. Don’t see it yet? Then you’ll need to be patient. While the Netherlands — along with Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, the US, and the UK — should have access right away, some users may need to update the app if you don’t see the option. Countries not on this list will be added gradually throughout October, so then waiting a bit is the only option left.

For now, Spotify Lossless comes at no additional cost. That’s not surprising, given that Spotify is already among the most expensive streaming services when it comes to subscription price. As for the quality itself, it’s what we called “CD+”: 24-bit / 44.1 kHz. Finally, it’s worth noting that the new option is only available to paying subscribers.