{"id":793014,"date":"2019-02-13T14:12:17","date_gmt":"2019-02-13T21:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=793983"},"modified":"2019-02-13T14:12:17","modified_gmt":"2019-02-13T21:12:17","slug":"high-res-music-service-qobuz-launches-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/high-res-music-service-qobuz-launches-in-the-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"High-Res Music Service Qobuz Launches in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"
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High-resolution music service Qobuz will make its much-anticipated American debut on Thursday, the company confirmed to\u00a0Rolling Stone<\/em>.\u00a0Qobuz \u2014 pronounced \u201cco buzz,\u201d and currently available in Europe, the U.K. and Ireland \u2014 offers both downloads and music-streaming subscriptions at CD quality and high-res quality, and its unique hybrid service will be available on all U.S. app stores.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody else is offering high-res music like this,\u201d says Dan Mackta, the managing director of Qobuz\u2019s U.S. operation. Mackta, who has served as head of marketing for Razor & Tie, Jive Records and RCA Records, was hired in July to lead the Paris-based company\u2019s foray into America, and the Valentine\u2019s Day launch has been eagerly awaited since the 12-year-old Qobuz first opened new headquarters in New York last year. The platform offers around 40 million songs at CD quality (16 bit) and around 2 million songs at high-res quality (24-bit\/192 kHz), which it says is the largest catalog of high-res music in the world.<\/p>\n

While other high-res music services already exist \u2014 Tidal and Deezer both have high-fidelity tiers and Sony recently launched a standalone service in Japan<\/a> \u2014 none have yet become big hits with a U.S. audience. The biggest hurdle for high-res music is inconvenience: Listeners have to use compatible headphones and custom computer equipment to access a superior level of audio quality in the first place. (In Japan, Sony\u2019s high-end gear is already popular.) But Mackta says he is optimistic about Qobuz USA\u2019s ability to capture market share in the crowded music-streaming market because high-quality speakers and audio equipment are increasingly affordable, and because he thinks dedicated music fans will always flock to the best possible listening experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not taking a shotgun approach,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s hand-to-hand combat \u2014 it\u2019s focused. We\u2019re going after audiophiles in the U.S. who are eager to have high-resolution options for music streaming<\/a>, especially after seeing their friends in Europe have it. Then, we\u2019re building out to regular music fans who haven\u2019t experienced songs in high resolution yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Audio connoisseurs can expect Qobuz USA to come with offline listening options, deep metadata, rare jazz and classical tracks and curated editorial content. The hybrid service, which has been tested in beta for the last few months, will offer four pricing options for U.S. customers:<\/p>\n