Since the launch of Spatial Audio in June 2021, Apple Music has been pushing labels and artists to remaster their music in an immersive format. Now, the platform offers a financial incentive in the form of increased royalties.
In a letter Apple Music sent to its partners on Monday (January 22) and received by Advertising signthe streamer revealed that starting with month-end royalty payments in January, music available on Spatial Audio — which is supported by Dolby Atmos — will receive a royalty rate up to 10% higher than content that isn't available in the form.
“Prorated shares for spatially available games will be calculated at a factor of 1.1 while non-spatially available games will continue to use a factor of 1,” the letter states. “This change is not only intended to reward higher quality content, but also to ensure that artists are compensated for the time and investment they put into mixing in Spatial.”
The letter offers an update on the adoption of the format by artists and users, including the claim that more than 90% of Apple Music listeners have tried the format and that “playbacks of music available on Spatial Audio have more than tripled in the last two years. ” He further states that the number of songs available on the format has grown nearly 5,000% since launch and has more than doubled in the last year alone. The company further claims that more than 80% of songs charted on the platform's Global Daily Top 100 in the past year are available on Spatial Audio.
Ostensibly to deter bad actors, the letter includes a reference to Apple Music's “zero tolerance policy for misleading or deceptive content,” noting that the service has “a quality control process that includes flagging content that does not deliver according to Spatial Audio specifications of Apple Music and quality standards'.
Spatial Audio officially launched on June 7, 2021. The format, which provides a surround sound experience to users' headphones, is being offered at no extra cost to Apple Music users, ostensibly to speed up adoption. As part of this effort, Spatial Audio tracks also enjoy improved visibility on the app's home page, ranking even higher than new music releases. Early adopters of the format included Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, J. Cole and Post Malone.
In a June 2021 interview with Advertising sign, Eddie QApple's senior vice president of software and Internet services, admitted that encouraging artists to mix their tracks for Spatial Audio would be a challenge given the time, labor and financial investment involved.
“This isn't just a take-the-file that you have in stereo, it's processed through this software application and Dolby Atmos comes out,” Cue said at the time. listen, and really make the right calls and what are the right things to do. It's a process that takes time, but it's worth it.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/business/streaming/apple-music-higher-royalties-spatial-audio-streams-1235586800/
