Apple Music to Offer Dolby Atmos Streams for Enhanced Audio Experience
Apple Music introduced spatial audio for the first time in 2021, utilizing Dolby Atmos technology to provide a more immersive and realistic sound experience for listeners. This format allows music to emanate from different directions around the listener’s head, replicating a lifelike and three-dimensional effect.
According to a recent Bloomberg article, Apple Music plans to expand its offering by providing streams of songs in Dolby Atmos format, in addition to the standard stereo version. This move aims to make Dolby Atmos music more widely available and provide artists with larger royalties.
Enhancing the Listening Experience with Spatial Audio
With this development, Apple Music users can expect to hear more spatial audio tracks that offer a truly immersive listening experience. By using audio technology to create versions with spatial sound, musicians and record labels will receive higher royalties.
Apple Music’s new approach also benefits artists and record labels as listeners do not necessarily need to engage with the Atmos version for the artists to be compensated. This means that even if users choose to listen to the standard stereo version, artists will still receive their fair share.
Incentivizing High-End Audio Format Adoption
The introduction of Dolby Atmos in Apple Music presents an opportunity for well-known musicians and record companies to participate and potentially increase their royalties. Atmos technology makes music mixing more cost-effective, making it an attractive option for artists and labels.
However, Apple has yet to officially disclose the guidelines and rewards for using the new audio format. Currently, Apple devices such as iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, iMacs, and AirPods support Dolby Atmos, allowing users to enjoy the enhanced audio experience.
Expanding the Availability of Spatial Audio
In addition to Apple Music, users of Amazon Inc.’s Music app can also enjoy free Dolby Atmos-compatible spatial audio as part of their subscriptions. This move by Apple Music could be a significant step, as Spotify has not yet enabled spatial audio on its platform.
As Apple Music continues to innovate and enhance the listening experience, the introduction of Dolby Atmos streams demonstrates their commitment to providing high-quality audio and rewarding artists and record labels for their contributions.
