“We understand that Amazon is currently in discussion with various large music rights-holders regarding the upcoming launch of a high fidelity music streaming platform – and that at least one major record company has already agreed to license it,” Tim Ingham reports for Music Business Worldwide.
“MBW has heard this whisper from several high-placed music industry sources, who say the price of Amazon’s new tier will likely be in the region of $15 per month. It’s expected to launch before the end of 2019,” Ingham reports. “‘It’s a better bit rate, better than CD quality,’ said one source. ‘Amazon is working on it as we speak: they’re currently scoping out how much catalog they can get from everyone and how they’ll ingest it.'”
“The world’s two biggest music subscription streaming platforms – Spotify and Apple Music – are yet to venture into the world of high fidelity audio,” Ingham reports. “‘Will Amazon’s exploration of a launch in the area trigger their interest?”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: In Apple Music’s case, we certainly hope Amazon’s moves pique interest in offering a hi-def option.
Amazon keeps adding and adding to services. Timid Tim might get around to it when he explains Apple TV + in the fall. Who knows when it launches. Tim needs a lot of time and thought. Meanwhile Amazon keeps moving forward. Apple needs a new CEO fast.
Your Hate Tim act is surely getting old. Why not start your own company?
I bet I have owned Apple a lot longer than you. I love the company and it’s products. As most people who visit this site do. I do not want to see Apple become Microsoft from 2000 under Ballmer and let another Apple take a leadership role. I love the company but it is painful to see the lack of chances that they take under Tim Cook. Remember Apple was 4 and 5 years ahead of Amazon and Google with SIRI. Apple was 3 years ahead of Netflix with rent to stream. Respectfully Jack
Pipeline Timmy didn’t start Apple either. However, he has become like that of a lamprey eel, sucking the very life out of Apple.
Yeah. There still trying to figure out how to start on the MacPro.
Apple should have done this years ago….Actually, about the same time it should have updated the MacPro.
The masses would not be able to tell the difference between 256kb AAC and CD quality on their Homepods enough to spend more money on it. If you are an audiophile with a $20,000 system you already have Tidal. Not sure Apple sees this as a big profit item in an ever more crowded field.
To be honest I probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I think the DSP and speakers through which you listen to music makes much more of a difference.
Since the compression algorithms have got so good I really don’t see the point in just paying for Hi-Def audio. They need to offer more than just that, it doesn’t add that much value especially if the user ends up using a cheap set of headphones or with some Bluetooth headphones they will recompress/transcode the audio anyway.
I think the more interesting area is offering a service which delivers better multi-channel audio, this would allow devices such as HomePod to more easily separate the different components of the audio to deliver even better surround sound. Again even this doesn’t really add the sort of value which would demand a high price tag. I think that’s the reason why other Hi-Def audio services have really failed to take off.
At the rate Cookie innovates, Amazon will wipe the floor with Apple on the services front. Apple could have offered hi definition audio a decade ago, but the geniuses at Apple couldn’t tell the difference when using their plastic Beats headphones.