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Qobuz Hi-Res Streaming Service US Launch Imminent

While consumer need for a hi-res streaming services seems to have cooled down of late and most listeners seemingly content with CD-quality music, Qobux close to imminent launching its hi-res. Continue reading [https://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2018/12/qobuz-another-hi-res-streaming-service-plans-immin

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While consumer need for a hi-res streaming services seems to have cooled down of late and most listeners seemingly content with CD-quality music, Qobux close to imminent launching its hi-res streaming and download platform in the US.  The news comes on the same day that Sony became the first major label to launch its own hi-res streaming service.

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Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0The fervor for high-resolution music streaming has died down in recent months, and it looked like everyone has finally settled on the current CD-level quality as sufficient enough for most users. That sentiment isn’t enough to stop hi-res streamer Qobuz from planning a launch for next year though, as the company recently opened up a New York City office and hired a number of well-known music executives.Qobuz was founded in Paris in 2007 and is currently live in 11 European markets. It offers more than 40-million CD-quality tracks and over 2 million hi-res tracks with up to 24-bit resolution, but the company says that it has secured an additional multi-million track catalog ahead of its US launch. When the service does begin in the U.S., it will be available on all Mac, iOS, Android and Windows operating systems.ALSO: Sony Music Takes On Spotify, Launches Streaming Service In Japan 'Powered By Napster' 2As with most hi-res services, you will also pay extra for the hi-res tier of Qobuz. It’s Sublime+ tier will cost $299.99 per year for access to the full hi-res catalog. As a bonus, the user will also be offered 40-60% discounts on hi-res download purchases as well.The Studio tier will be $24.9 9per month or $249.99 annually for unlimited hi-res streaming. Its Hi-Fi tier will be priced at $19.99 per month or $199.99 annually for 16-bit CD quality, and its Premium tier will cost $9.99 per month for 320 kbps MP3 quality streaming, or the standard $99.99 annually.While it’s not widespread, there is a market for high quality streaming music. Go to a hi-fi show anywhere and if an exhibitor isn’t playing back from vinyl then they’re streaming from Tidal. Deezer, another French company with a hi-res tier, hasn’t had much of an impact on North America yet, but that also means that there’s room Qobuz.We keep waiting for Apple Music to turn on the hi-res tap, since the company has been collecting high-resolution masters for over 6 years now. That hasn’t happened yet and there’s no indication that such a move is imminent. That gives companies like Qobuz a chance in the marketplace, for now.

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