In July 2020, Futuresource published the results of its consumer research Audio Tech Lifestyles, which interviewed 10,000 audio hardware owners across the US, UK, Germany, Japan and China. Moreover, adoption of fast internet is accelerating, with the roll-out of 5G in many markets, coupled with people upgrading to fibre for remote-working, which further facilitates the consumption of high-quality audio at home and on the move. Futuresource has notably seen a surge in demand for premium audio products in 2020, for instance shipments of $1,000+ soundbars jumping 32% year-on-year in the period Q1-Q3 2020. In 2020, consumers had more time to consume content due to COVID-19, which drove a desire for having good sound at home to improve comfort during this period.
This is particularly true as if both Spotify and Amazon Music are offering lossless streaming, Apple Music could also launch a similar plan, which would corroborate with its positioning as a premium audio brand, notably following the launch of the AirPods Max.Īmazon Music HD has been available for over a year now, which has helped driving mainstream awareness around high-quality streaming and has ultimately created favourable grounds for Spotify to launch its HiFi plan. As Spotify is the leading streaming player with 155 million subscribers globally, it means that high-quality audio will finally be within reach of mainstream adoption. Spotify has been historically reluctant to offer lossless streaming, which demonstrates a shift in consumer expectations. During its “Stream On” event, Spotify announced that it plans to launch a Hi-Fi streaming plan offering lossless streaming in CD quality later this year in selected markets.
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