A huge change looks to be coming for the recording industry

[jim1960]

Apple Music is going to require all music submitted to be in Dolby Atmos and there's a good chance the rest of the industry is heading in the same direction. This probably puts Apple Music out of reach for most home studios ...at least until the lower end interfaces catch up. I've never gone down the Atmos rabbit hole so I have as much catching up as any of you on this. Perhaps some that know more can weigh in.

[Chipotle]

I recently posted elsewhere ranting about how Apple often makes changes designed to exclude. Their iMessage service (security concerns aside), the HEIC photo format, now this. As an IT Guy, I can say that all the big companies suck in their own way, but Jobs World takes it to a new level.

[Brent Hahn]

A change is coming for Apple Music. Neither I nor my clients (none of whom are on major labels) care. The trend I see is toward the only sales platforms being Bandcamp, the artist's site and the merch table, with no full-length songs streamable for free anywhere, and only made available to radio and licensing/placement people.

I still have a SoundCloud page of full-length songs that you can listen to for free, but that's coming down. The new one will have all the same songs, but only 30-second clips. Maybe 20 seconds or even 10. An ad for my music, like a trailer for a movie.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

I recently posted elsewhere ranting about how Apple often makes changes designed to exclude.

That's true at times but I think this is more about one-upping Spotify than about excluding.

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

A change is coming for Apple Music. Neither I nor my clients (none of whom are on major labels) care.

I'd think any up-and-coming music act would want to maximize exposure. I can't think how it would be advantageous to NOT be on Apple Music.

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

The trend I see is toward the only sales platforms being Bandcamp, the artist's site and the merch table, with no full-length songs streamable for free anywhere, and only made available to radio and licensing/placement people.

Those are certainly the more profitable outlets for sales but it's also true that Spotify plays can propel acts to the next level. It would be great if Bandcamp had that same kind of muscle but I'd have to be convinced that it does. If Spotify decides to only accept Atmos mixes ...and there's no guarantee that happens... I think the rest of the industry almost certainly gets pulled along because too many people are going to want their music on the two largest streaming platforms.

[AcousticDreams]

It certainly seems like every aspect of earning monies for the pro musician is becoming more and more difficult. I can understand the theory of why they might want this, for the home enthusiast. However it seems like such a mood point when so many people are listening through headphones, youtube and car speakers.

With our recent discussions on how hard it is to earn from streaming, And what AI might do to the industry, this is just another obstacle.

"Los Angeles’ legendary United Recording Studios, where Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, as well as the Beach Boys"
not that far away from me, is changing up, and not in good way.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...160500750.html

Is the cooperate world taking over? Where Stock prices are the only thing that matters?

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by AcousticDreams

However it seems like such a mood point when so many people are listening through headphones, youtube and car speakers.

Some high end autos are already using this tech and it's more prevalent than some of us realize. Apple's Home Pod is using it. Amazon has it in some of their Echo lineup. The hardware to take advantage of the recordings is out there and if the listening experience is superior to stereo, it's got a good chance of catching on.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by jim1960

... it's also true that Spotify plays can propel acts to the next level. It would be great if Bandcamp had that same kind of muscle but I'd have to be convinced that it does.

The people I work with, they do all their own promotion. They finance their own recordings. They make their money from gigs, sometimes half of it merch. Spotify and Tunecore and Apple Music do nothing for them. Bandcamp is just one of many sales platforms, but if you're doing all your own promotion and driving your fans to a sales platform, why confuse things by having more than one?

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

The people I work with, they do all their own promotion. They finance their own recordings. They make their money from gigs, sometimes half of it merch. Spotify and Tunecore and Apple Music do nothing for them. Bandcamp is just one of many sales platforms, but if you're doing all your own promotion and driving your fans to a sales platform, why confuse things by having more than one?

I'm not disputing that there's a subset of artists for whom what may be coming makes no difference but I'm doubtful Bandcamp or the like will be satisfactory to the majority of people. I suspect they'll want their friends and family to be able to access their music on the platforms their friends and family are familiar with, and for most people that's going to be Spotify or Apple Music.
And just so it's clear, I'm not rooting for this change to happen.

[kurth]

things were alot more interesting when musicians sold cassettes

[DupleMeter]

I really think this is going to hurt Apple.

Most indie artists I work with can barely afford a stereo mix. They are not interested in paying for an ATMOS mix. In fact, I have yet to have any client ask for ATMOS. The problem for working artists/bands, is that the revenue from streaming is negligible, and they need to maximize their ROI on anything they spend on their music. So they do what they can on their own & then pay for mixing or sometimes just mastering. And, unfortunately, 80% of their listeners are on YouTube...not the streaming services.

What might be the good news here is that this could be the beginning of the end for ATMOS in music (it will be a big thing for video). A high profile blunder that receives cool or even angry reception from the indie music community could be very bad for the format in general.

[keith.rogers]

I don't know if this is something as onerous as the thread suggests, because, as stated in the video, this is simply a kind of transition that was "forced" on folks when stereo came out.

And, from Apple's view, also as stated in the video, probably most of the sound reproducing systems on the market today, from smart speakers to soundbars, support Dolby Atmos. They're simply trying to insure that their product (i.e., Apple Music) sounds as good as possible when folks hear it on their existing devices.

Now, it will require some investment, depending on what you're going to deliver, maybe more than just time if you want to do complex renderings, but I'll wait until I get my feet wet with my simple stuff, and convert a project or two using what's already built in to Logic Pro, and see whether I think this is going to be a big problem, or just something else to learn.

And, I've been looking at a new soundbar/system for the family room, so that's probably going to be my only real monitoring system, but probably a good baseline for most normal folks. (Not springing for the $25k Focal system )

[j3ffr0]

Apple has been making their stuff less and less relevant for a long time. Some of their innovations were great enough back in the day that they had a halo effect for a while, but I think that's mostly over now. I don't know many folks who haven't moved on from Apple Music.... It was iTunes when it was cool, but now... is it even worth saying meh....

[Rudy4]

It's an interesting "sidebar" within the field of audio / video products and ultimately it will be the consumer that determines its staying power.

There are a whole bunch of examples of major corporations attempting to strong arm the public into paying for something that they have no desire in going along with.

Anyone want to buy my old BetaMax (I'll throw in some tapes) or my more recently acquired PonoPlayer?

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by j3ffr0

I don't know many folks who haven't moved on from Apple Music.... It was iTunes when it was cool, but now... is it even worth saying meh....

By just about every metric, Apple Music is #2 behind Spotify, so I'm not sure how anyone can make an argument that it's not worth saying. I have no doubt that this move is designed to bring in more and not fewer subscribers.

Here's why I think it could work... cars.
For many people, their cars is where they listen to the most music. If I discount my studio work which, while technically listening to music, I don't count as recreational listening, my car is where I listen to music the most by far. If the Atmos soundfield makes music more interesting and enjoyable, I can see myself subscribing some day. After spending some time yesterday investigating what Atmos actually is/does, I'm very curious to hear what it does for music. I'm not sure if it makes it better or just different without actually improving the experience, but I'd like to find out.

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Anyone want to buy my old BetaMax (I'll throw in some tapes) or my more recently acquired PonoPlayer?

Some people thought stereo wasn't going to catch on.
AM is king and FM is never going to find an audience.
We can find analogies that work both ways for this. But I think this stands a chance because many people already have the tech in their homes and/or cars. If it's a better experience ...and I'm not saying it is or isn't... the tech will be more in demand and we'll see the price come down to where nearly everyone can afford it.

[KevWind]

So given I know very little about Dolby Atmos other than it is a multi channel surround sound platform

But I am wondering that if we put aside the obviously expensive multi speaker hardware proposition for mix monitoring .
And weather or not Apple Music is a big deal


It appears that IF you Have a DAW that supports Atmos (from Production Expert Blog https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/pro...ware-do-i-need= Supported DAWs include Ableton Live, Apple Logic Pro, Avid Pro Tools, Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve and Steinberg Nuendo.) then am I correct that you can still deliver an Atmos mix (albeit not verified by monitoring thru a dedicated multi speaker system)
Also from this info PT needs an additional Dolby plugin and Ableton needs the free Dolby plugin ??????