Apple will be offering rewards to artists and record labels for the producing of music using spatial-audio technology.
Beginning next year, the company plans to provide added weighting to song streams that are mixed in Dolby Atmos technology, according to insiders.
The sources claimed this could mean higher royalty payments to those who are the first to incorporate Dolby technology.
However, listeners wouldn’t need to play the Atmos version of a song for artists to still benefit. The only catch is that the song is offered in the format. The policy is expected to encourage artists and labels to record / mix songs with Atmos, and this isn’t limited to new songs.
According to the sources, mixing music in Atmos is broadly affordable.
Audio hardware from Apple, including AirPods and HomePod, support Atmos playback, and with more tracks available in spatial audio, the company hopes more consumers will want to purchase additional hardware.
Spatial audio was first introduced to Apple Music in 2021, and is supported by technology from Dolby Atmos, attempting to closely mimic the way music sounds in person.
Amazon’s music app also offers spatial audio supported by Dolby Atmos as part of subscriptions, with no extra cost. Spotify doesn’t currently support the format.
