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Interview: The chief of Qobuz USA talks about corporate musical transmission today

That is part of a decade, because the musical transmission facilities were delivered and a death death in the mass market for physical music formats. The music founded by the Internet was a great spice in 2001 when Apple introduced its original iTunes program, based on software called Soundjam that Apple bought Cassidy & Greene.

About 18 years later and iTunes have been called Apple Music, a transmission service that the position to buy and download the music of the music that iTunes has begun. Then I arrived here to Spotify, with the new concept of not having music yet to hire it instead when paying a subscription per month to a flat rate. Since then, the concept has been firmly rooted, especially among young music lovers. However, older music fans could have been a little more resistant to the concept of hiring their music than buying it.  

The musical transmission has also found a safe resistance of audiophiles because this organization of music lovers is not easy to invest in a small fortune in first level audio equipment, and audiophiles come from a generation that has grown listening to music stored in physical formats such as CDS and Vinyl LPS and the front band.

The main objection to the musical transmission of many audiophiles was the relatively low audio quality of the MP3 format, which was first used for transmission. To transmit music well, music has been scanned and compressed, crushed and stripped of its subtlety to make the disc small enough to transmit or download on a slow web connection. The relief in audio quality would not be visual when played on a smartphone or on a Bluetooth speaker, however, there was no way to compare with the audio quality of a read CD in a perfect audio configuration.

However, the beyond five years have noticed a high maximum speed at maximum speed at maximum speed, cable and 4G -based networks, providing faster discharge speeds that can gently spread the higher quality audio files. It is this main main technical replacement in the Internet infrastructure that has made a Transmission of High Resolution of Truth.

Currently, the leader of the package in terms of high quality transmission is Tidal, followed through Deezer. The two facilities offer the best audio quality on various platforms, adding Mac OS, PC, iOS and Android. More and more, the control of these transmission facilities is also ready directly for the audio device such as virtual music streamers. It is a market market niche at the moment, however, there is no doubt that high quality transmission takes off, while the market market and the availability of physical media are based on CD sales, or partly move through the recent vinyl renewal.

Six months ago, Qobuz, a French music transmission service introduced in the United States, which provides 24 -bit FLAC music files with a solution greater than CD quality and a format that can shine when reproduced in top -level audio equipment. In addition to the transmission, Qobuz also offers subscribers the option to buy downloads of main solutions that can be read and stored on a server or a house computer, or on a computer (digital audio) in progress.

The Qobuz service has been in France since 2007, however, it is recently that the concept of superior solution transmission began to gain genuine traction. To mark the first six months of being in the United States, I spoke with Dan Mackta, managing director of Qobuz USA, and asked questions about the long series of transmissions in the largest and maximum dynamic music market in the world.

Mackta emphasizes that obtaining a better generation in all grades and a potential market of about 32 million subscribers, the transmission of superior solution in the United States has come despite everything that came for audiophiles. Mackta underlines the singer and composer Neil Young as a guilty user for making the total revolution paintings in the transmission. It was young who was the Pono engine, the Hawaiian word for “appropriate”, a pioneer transmission platform of the upper solution and now lacked that Young introduced in 2014, providing the same transmission loyalty that Qobuz now gives in the United States. Neil Young was recorded to deplore how low quality transmission crushed the life of music. In 2015, Young even eliminated its Spotify music, Apple iTunes and other transmission platforms.

I ask Mackta how the transmission market has evolved in the more than five years since the launch of Pono. Where precisely Qobuz looks at himself in the upper solution market?

“Qobuz grants the small percentage of listeners who appreciate the quality of the audio, first.

I sought to know what attracts the subscribers to Qobuz. There is an intelligent selection for the high quality transmission of Tidal and Deezer, so what idea of ​​demography Mackta that attracted qobuz and why?

“Neither Tidal nor Deezer provide a 24 -bit FLAC local transmission and there is a herbal base for this format. Our concentration in genres such as jazz, Classics and Soundtracks offers undefeated music enthusiasts to notice and enjoy the new music. Our users are older and rich than the main music client.

Qobuz’s service used with a party at the Devialet store, New York in February.

Qobuz started in France, so I wondered if it made the corporate compared to another market transmission.

“The French notions of good appearance and quality lead to many of our decisions. I don’t think that can say it,” Mackta said. The French streamer Deezer would not possibly make a distinctive characteristic of its galics.

So how many clues Qobuz offers now? I wonder if there were artists or exclusive music that Mark Qobuz of his competitors.

“Qobuz has approximately 40 million CD quality without loss (16 -bit / 44. 1k flac) and more than two million beef (24 bits of up to 192k). Mackta said that Qobuz has not yet made many exclusive, however, read about attractive possibilities. Genres of interest to our users.

Qobuz is proud of the two million FLAC tracks of 24 bits of superior quality in its catalog, while the competitor’s tide is a wonderful MQA format game (Masters Quality Authenticated) evolved through Bob Stuart, which has an exclusive compression technology. MQA claims to deliver musical records of the upper solution that are remastered directly from the original master gangs and are delivered in a much smaller record length than the largest FLAC format. Apple also joins the best solution night through reliving its main solution that will be offered as Apple Digital Masters. Are I interested in knowing how Mackta saw the high quality transmission market expand in the next five years?

“Another niche will be developed, however, the dominant existing one will move to a delight of heavy, press, game and even more passive tension.

The Qobuz application is blank and orderly, providing reading lists, favorites and muscarray offline. More library. The service uses its possible options to perceive the music you love and offer advice for new music.

Discussing finances with executives in the Marketplaceplace musical transmission is a delicate theme, but I asked if Mackta Idea that the transmission of music of high quality of music Marketplaceplace had an intelligent benefit. Is it a consultation of achieving an inclination point or a critical mass in terms of subscriber figures for this to happen?

“Transmission earns a million dollars per hour for the main labels, but it is a very strict margin activity for transmission services, and the number of subscribers does not solve this. It is a great stranger. In Qobuz, we are looking for profitability through prices and focus on what we spend for the acquisition of visitors. “

And how quickly this user base develops? What subscription point turns out to be the maximum popular option?

“Our user base is appearing on the right path with our expectations,” Mackta replied. “We plan to accelerate. Studio (transmission of 24 -bit upper solution) is our maximum popular point and our maximum popular musical genres are rock, jazz and classic. “

As a last question, I ask Mackta what marks Qobuz other high quality transmission services. “We are music lovers!” He replied.  

Without a doubt, Tidal and Deezer will have to say about it.

Price plans:

Sublime +: $ 299. 99 / year for complete transmission and really extensive discounts (40-60%) in high-resolution discharge purchases (up to 24 bits / 192 kHz).

Study: $ 24. 99 / month for unlimited hi-res (24 bits / up to 192 kHz) in transmission ($ 249. 99 consisting of the year).

HI-FI: $ 19. 99 / month for transmission, 16-bit CD quality transmission ($ 199. 99 consisting of the year).

Award: $ 9. 99 / month for MP3 transmission of 320 Kbps ($ 99. 99 according to the year).  

More information: www. qobuz. com

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