It has been one year since Apple Music introduced spatial audio in collaboration with Dolby Laboratories. In its early stage, it has restructured how composers, venues, and consumers interact with music. However, it has puzzled analysts about what this means for the streaming and music industry.
What is Dolby Atmos?
Dolby Atmos is a surround technology designed to provide listeners with an immersive audio experience. Dolby's website exclaims, "Whether you're gaming, watching your favorite movie or show, or listening to that new track on repeat, Dolby Atmos enhances the entertainment you love across all of your devices. It goes beyond ordinary listening by transporting you with the breakthrough spatial sound experience that draws you in deeper, so you hear and feel more." According to Dolby, it allows creatives everywhere to place each sound exactly where they want it to go, creating a more realistic and immersive audio experience. The average listener will feel as if the audio is surrounding them. Which would be akin to the immersion people feel when thrust into an action scene while watching a movie in their favorite theater. By default, Apple Music will automatically play Dolby Atmos tracks on all AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip, as well as the built-in speakers in the latest versions of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. As we head into 2023, the need for composers to mix and master their music in the spatial audio format will become more apparent. If not for increased playlisting and broader recognition, it will position composers ahead of the growing demand for music in the highest quality format.
What is next for the industry?
Apple music's implementation of spatial audio is the latest strategy to give them an edge over other streaming apps. Right now, Apple is the only company that supports the spatial audio feature. According to stats provided by the company, Spatial Audio plays have grown by over 700 percent since its launch on Apple Music. Monthly Spatial Audio streams on editorial playlists have increased by over 250 percent since the launch of Spatial Audio on Apple Music. Current data shows that consumers are responding well to the newly implemented feature. This favorable data may prompt other streaming companies to follow suit and implement a surround sound audio feature.
As far as the music industry, we will see composers and venues adapt to the spatial audio feature. Composers will be more inclined to construct music that utilizes this feature, allowing the creator to leverage the listener's imagination. Listeners will be able to connect to the song on a deeper level, as the spatial audio will enable them to hear every unique detail down to the chord progression. With Composers now considering the spatial audio feature when drafting music, this will coerce venues into accommodating such songs. Concert venues will have to engineer their site to allow the music to reverberate and echo. Some great examples of adapted venues include Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Meyerson symphony center in Dallas, Texas.
Furthermore, since spatial audio is all about the quality of the audio experience, concertgoers may naturally become motionless. Depending on the type of music, this may be an advantage or disadvantage. As the feature relies heavily on reverb, it favors music that has less rhythm. Spatial audio, however, is a new perspective on music that allows hidden details to get discovered. How this technology evolves remains to be seen, but it will undeniably change how music is consumed.
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