Apple reportedly to offer incentives for artists, record labels to embrace Spatial Audio

According to a Bloomberg reports, Apple will start “offering incentives to artists and record labels to produce music” using Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos technology.

The article says that, starting in 2024, the tech giant plans to give added weighting to streams of songs that are mixed in Dolby Atmos technology. Bloomberg says that could mean higher royalty payments for artists who are first to embrace the technology made by Dolby Laboratories Inc.

What is Spatial Audio?

On May 17, 2020, Apple announced that Apple Music was bringing “industry-leading sound quality” to subscribers with the addition of Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos. Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos and Lossless Audio is available to Apple Music subscribers at no additional cost. The company says Spatial Audio gives artists the opportunity to create immersive audio experiences for their fans with true multidimensional sound and clarity. 

Here’s more from Bloomberg: Listeners wouldn’t necessarily have to play the Atmos version of a song for artists to benefit. It only matters that the song is offered in that format. The new policy will encourage artists and labels to record and mix music with Atmos — including older tracks. 

Mixing music in Atmos is broadly affordable, according to the people, making it worthwhile for established artists and labels to participate in the hope of seeing a boost in royalties.