The future of how we listen to music seems to be increasingly associated with immersive audio, after Dolby’s report claimed that there is a growing number of famous artists offering their music in Atmos format.
As reported A musical allywhen talking about earnings in the company (opens in a new tab) Earlier this week, Dolby CEO Kevin Yeaman revealed to investors: “We have two-thirds of Billboard’s top 100 artists who have one or more songs available on Dolby Atmos.”
Yeoman also highlighted how Atmos has now also come to be adopted in live music situations, highlighting R’n’B star Usher’s recent residence at MGM’s Las Vegas clubhouse, which featured 3D audio mixes.
A quick look at the latest album list seems to confirm Yeaman’s claim. New albums from famous artists such as Harry Styles, Lizzo and Megan Thee Stallion have been released in recent weeks on Dolby Atmos, indicating that multi-channel mixes may be well on their way to becoming the norm for major labels.
Apple Music last year became the newest major streaming service offering a substantial library of classical and new music in Dolby Atmos, following in the footsteps of rivals Amazon Music and Tidal, which also offer select releases in hi-res multi-channel format.
The news from Dolby came as Qobuz’s high-end music streaming service announced that it had teamed up with THX to offer songs in the company’s new 24-bit THX Spatial Audio format.
So far, three tracks from THX Spatial Audio from Circuit des Yeux, Dinosaur Jr and Anat Cohen have appeared on the site, with special 3D audio mixes that are intended to give listeners the feeling of being in the same space as the performers.
According to Qobuz, you don’t need any particular pair of headphones to listen to songs in THX Spatial Audio, with all three tracks now available to subscribers (opens in a new tab).
Analysis: Perhaps it’s finally time for an immersive sound
Though it is dismissed as a gimmick by many heads, the increase in 3D sound now seems undeniable.
Apple Music’s move last year to start offering an extensive in-house library Surround music streaming format seems to have opened the airlocks.
This is no longer just an exercise to breathe new life into classic albums by traditional bands, it is now becoming unusual that new albums from modern major labels are not available for streaming on Atmos, and a growing number of artists now also offer one-off recordings made especially for sound spatial.
The adoption of this format has been further facilitated by Apple with support for surround sound on many devices, including AirPods and iPhones, while a recent update to standard Logic Audio recording software has made rendering mixes in Atmos much easier for manufacturers. thing.
Spotify remains a 3D audio pager, but as most of its rivals now offer Atmos (China’s leading streaming service QQ Music in particular began offering music in an immersive audio format last month) and the growing interest in engaging music from both artists and audiences, leading the world’s music platform may soon require a melody change.