Amazon is reportedly preparing to introduce a high-fidelity music streaming platform and is currently in talks with large music rights-holders over its upcoming launch.

According to Music Business Worldwide, citing high-placed music industry sources, Amazon already has at least one major record company onboard to license the service. The price is likely to be in region of $15 per month and it’s expected to arrive before the end of the year.

The platform would present direct competition for services such as Tidal and Deezer.

Tidal offers high definition music streaming through its ‘hi-fi’ subscription tier, offering CD-quality lossless streams at 44.1 KHz/16 bit for $19.99. It also offers a ‘Masters’ quality tier at 96 KHz/24 bit, which is made possible through a partnership with MQA.

Meanwhile, Deezer’s hi-fi tier also streams at 44.1 KHz/16 bit and costs $19.99. However, it streams via FLAC files.

Spotify and Apple Music’s platforms don’t offer high-fidelity audio.

The news comes a week after Amazon launched its first free music streaming offering in the US. The ad-supported service is available to people with a Prime membership or Music Unlimited subscription, enabling them to listen to music for free via Alexa-enabled devices. However, these users are only able to choose from pre-populated stations or playlists based on songs, artists, eras, or genres.