Spotify expands to 85 countries, announces high-end subscription

Spotify is not playing around in 2021, making itself the go-to for music and podcast streaming for users worldwide, along with creating new subscription offers.

On the lookout for new Spotify podcasts

Now that “The Michelle Obama Podcast” has completed its first season with the former first lady of the same name, the 44th president has released his Spotify podcast. In his “unlikely friendship” with rock star Bruce Springsteen, former President Barack H. Obama talks with the music legend about race, racism, childhood memories and marriage on “Renegades: Born in the USA.”

Director and storyteller Ava DuVernay also has an up-and-coming series of exclusive scripted and unscripted original audio programming headed to Spotify via her company ARRAY.

The worldwide Spotify expansion

For worldwide listeners who may want to tune in for podcasts, storytelling and music but Spotify is not in their area, don’t fret. The platform is expanding to 85 more countries (in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America), and adding 36 more languages to its platform, according to its official newsroom.

These 80-plus markets represent more than 1 billion people and are an opportunity to expand the music selections. Spotify users will be able to hear more genres like K-Pop, reggaeton and amapiano.

What Spotify’s new subscription has to offer

While spanning to more than 170 markets and reaching more than 1 billion people, Spotify will still offer its Individual, Family, Duo and Student Plans. And beginning later this year, Spotify Premium subscribers in select markets will be able to upgrade their sound quality to Spotify HiFi.

The popularity of specialized headphones, especially within the hip-hop community (ex. Beats by Dre and We The Best by DJ Khaled), has made billions since 2008. Artists and producers have been vocal about wanting their music to be heard the way it was intended and recorded. And Spotify HiFi will soon deliver music in Spotify Connect-enabled speakers, giving listeners the opportunity to “experience more depth and clarity while enjoying their favorite tracks.”

“We make music that wants to be heard the way that it was made,” said pop star Billie Eilish in a recent Spotify interview.

However, this HiFi option will initially only roll out for a “select global market” in “CD-quality, lossless audio format.” Other speaker manufacturers may be involved once the subscription is available. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.