Music streaming site Spotify has announced that premium users of the service will be able to listen to the service in CD-quality sound from this Friday.

Premium users will now hear their music streamed at 320 kb/s, as opposed to the regular 160kb/s still used for non-premium users.

Spotify founder Daniel Ek said: "Providing great sound quality has always been an important goal for us. Now, we're taking the next step in offering an unparalleled listening experience."

The news comes shortly after the managing director of the Official Charts Company revealed that free online music streaming plays are set to be taken into account in terms of chart positions.

The UK singles and album charts are currently decided by the amount of physical sales and downloads of tracks sold, but Martin Talbot told BBC News that although there are no immediate plans to integrate free streams into the charts, the change is inevitable.

"I'm sure it [counting free music streaming plays] will come upon us quicker than we might anticipate," he said. "None of us really know when it will happen.

"I think ultimately it's bound to happen. But that could be five years, it could be 10 years, it could be 20 years."