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After spending years as a platform to showcase other music and audio services, Sonos entered the fray in April with the launch of Sonos Radio. The ad-supported service offers a wide range of genre-based stations, live radio, and artist-curated projector stations. Sonos Radio has already become the fourth most listened to service on the platform, and today the company is taking it a step further with the launch of Sonos Radio HD. It’s a $ 7.99 per month subscription that will stream select stations in CD quality lossless (16-bit, 44Hz) and allow listeners to skip, pause, and replay songs. All original Sonos Radio stations are also ad-free for Sonos Radio HD subscribers. It is available today in the US and UK.
Sonos claims that the lossless audio in Sonos Radio HD makes it the best quality of any broadcast radio service. (Shows from live radio stations, such as those from your local stations, will continue to play at the same 128 kbps as before.) In addition to a few more original music stations, the company is also adding “Sleep Sounds” at the paid level, described as “a collection of stations promoting mindfulness and relaxation for a peaceful night’s sleep.” These include brown noise, pink noise, white noise, piano for sleeping, rain, and rainforest. (Remember, you can set a timer in the Sonos app so you can play it until you’re probably asleep, and they’ll automatically turn off.)
Sonos Radio HD is also expanding artist participation with even more curated stations that offer exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes stories. The first of these is Dolly Parton’s “Songteller Radio”, which will delve into the singer-songwriter’s decades of legendary music.
At $ 7.99 per month, Sonos Radio HD saves you a few dollars on Spotify, Apple Music, and other fully on-demand music services. Sonos says overall listening to its devices increased by 40% during the pandemic, giving customers another radio offering to check out as they continue to spend so much time at home; There is a one month free trial when you first register.
Radio services represent 50% of listening to Sonos products; people clearly love the experience of relaxation and the musical discovery that they offer. So if the company can make Sonos Radio HD benefit from this popularity, it will definitely help Sonos’ bottom line. Having this advantageous position as an integrated service available immediately to new Sonos customers – even before they link their Spotify or other music accounts – certainly puts Sonos Radio in a good place for continued growth. If there’s one obvious downside to other streaming radio apps, it’s that this one only plays on your Sonos speakers. But maybe some Sonos headphones could allow you to take Sonos Radio HD on the go.
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