Apple Music offers many albums with three-dimensional sound on its platform. To encourage labels and artists to produce more content in Spatial Audio (Dolby Atmos), the Apple brand will pay more for tracks mixed in this format.
What is Spatial Audio?
Spatial Audio positions sound all around the listener. It creates a sound bubble for enhanced immersion. Popularized by cinema, Dolby Atmos has also been introduced to the world of music. Streaming platforms such as Amazon Music HD, Tidal and Apple Music offer three-dimensional audio on certain titles.
Apple’s Spatial Audio is based on Dolby Atmos, offering the same sound quality, but with added dynamism, based on the listener’s head movements. This technology uses the accelerometers and gyroscopes found in Apple AirPods Max headphones and Apple AirPods earbuds. This 3D sound can also be enjoyed with other audiophile headphones or a Dolby Atmos-compatible AV receiver.
Since its launch in 2021, the number of songs in Spatial Audio has soared. Apple also states that 90% of its users have already listened to Spatial Audio music on its platform. 80% of the top 100 most popular tracks on Apple Music use this format. Audiophiles will be delighted to hear that demand is growing!
Towards better remuneration for artists?
Since the advent of streaming, music financing has always been at the center of debate. In 2022, an agreement to propose a minimum wage for artists was signed. At the end of 2023, a tax on streaming was introduced, with the aim of helping the CNM (Centre National de la Musique), whose primary mission is to support professionals in their development.
For its part, Apple sees Spatial Audio as a way of adding value to music. Mixing in Dolby Atmos represents an additional cost, and to alleviate this problem, they have decided to increase the monetization of Spatial Audio titles by 10%. A welcome decision that will allow more premium content to be made available, while improving compensation for artists and labels. This new system has been in place since the beginning of the year. Artists and labels will be able to see the increase when royalties are paid in January 2024.
Buy albums to support artists
Although music streaming is taking an ever-increasing share of the market, the best way to support the industry is still to buy albums. Platforms such as Bandcamp, Napster, Tidal and Qobuz offer this option, providing better compensation. A solution that also allows you to have your music at your disposal and listen to it even when you’re offline.
Physical media is also an option for audiophiles. CDs are still appealing. CD / SACD players and turntables offer high performance and excellent sound quality. Vinyl is still very much in vogue. Many labels continue to release music in this highly popular format.
