Apple Music’s Spatial Audio feature has been around for over two years, and now Apple is ramping up efforts to encourage more musicians to take advantage of the technology. The brand has announced that it will begin offering an additional 10% of royalties to music units who provide their music in Spatial Audio format.
The incentive is part of Apple’s push to increase the availability of Spatial Audio content on its platform. The additional payment will be calculated from the royalty income in January and will be based on the ratio of Spatial Audio music playback to non-Spatial Audio music playback.
This means that musicians who provide all of their songs in Spatial Audio mode, such as using Dolby Atmos mastering, will be eligible for the extra payment, regardless of whether anyone actually listens to the Spatial Audio versions of their music.
According to Apple, the additional royalties are not only meant to reward musicians for providing higher-quality content but also to compensate them for the extra time and effort spent on mixing in Dolby Atmos. The move comes as more than 90% of Apple Music users are now listening to Spatial Audio songs, and the total number of Spatial Audio plays has more than doubled in the past two years.
Apple’s efforts seem to be paying off, as the number of songs in the Spatial Audio collection has also increased by nearly 5000%. This is a clear indicator of the growing interest and demand for high-quality music experiences among users.
Overall, Apple’s decision to incentivize musicians to provide their music in Spatial Audio format is a positive step towards enriching the music streaming experience for its users. As the popularity of Spatial Audio continues to grow, it will be interesting to see how this incentive program encourages more musicians to embrace this technology and offer their music in a richer, more immersive format.
Source: 9to5Mac