(Hypebot) — Yesterday Apple Music and 30 minutes later Amazon Music announced they would not charge extra for hi-res lossless and 3D Spatial audio streaming.
It seems likely that Spotify will follow soon at the same price point.
Tidal, Quboz, and even Amazon Music had been charging an extra $5 or $14.99 per month for the higher quality streams.
Because 51% of revenue collected by a music streamer is paid out in royalties, every $14.99 per month hi-res subscriptions added $31 more each year to the pool that pays artists, songwriters, and labels than the average $9.99 per month subscription.
Many analysts believe that Apple and Amazon cut prices to compete with Spotify. Others point to low adoption of hi-res streaming. After all, if no one is willing to pay extra, why not give it away for free?
Whatever the reason, the message to artists is clear: Don’t expect higher royalties any time soon.
