QOBUZ IN AMERICA

[svart-hvitt]

Qobuz hiring in the U.S.:

https://a2im.org/forums/topic/qobuz-usa-seeks-marketing-and-operations-manager/

 

[Sal1950]

Spotify O Spotify, how I'm going to miss you.
I've fallen in love with streaming and having just about any piece of music I could want at my fingertips.
The Spotify UI so easy to navigate and now after 2 years it's become so comfortable I'm going to hate to change.
But the call of a lossless steam is strong.
Time to get off your ass and offer us a top quality product or there will be a different icon on my desktop soon.

 

[DuxServit]

As far as I understand, artists do not get much (often zero) performance royalties in streaming:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/26/how-spotify-apple-music-can-pay-musicians-more-commentary.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/28/how-spotify-licenses-and-pays-for-music-rights.html

 

[Sal1950]

As far as I understand, artists do not get much (often zero) performance royalties in streaming:

The paradigm of the 1940-2000s of artists getting rich off LP sales is pretty much history. At least until they reach a "super-stardom" level.
Till then they will have to work their ass off, performing live anywhere they can get a gig while cutting albums, hoping for radio and word of mouth to spread their fame.
Kind of like it was forever before recorded music.
And thats also what the rest of us do, go to work every day.

 

[svart-hvitt]

While we’re awaiting Qobuz launch in the U.S.A, Chris at CA explains how to export play lists from Tidal to Qobuz:

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/...rites-and-playlists-from-tidal-to-qobuz-r738/

 

[Ratatoskr]

There is a Qobuz signup page that was working for US residents as of yesterday at https://www.qobuz.com/nl-nl/discover
Hopefully it will still work for a few more days like the beta test did. If you live in the US and have been considering Qobuz try the link before it no longer works for US IP addresses ... the beta test landing page only worked for less than a week back in November. Click the 'Try For Free' button and sign up with a username and password, if you are taken to a page asking for your credit card you will get a free month then your card starts getting charged. Good luck!

 

[RayDunzl]

There is a Qobuz signup page...

Too hard! Too hard!
Plooking too hard on me-e-e-e-e...

It gets even harder...

 

[svart-hvitt]

Bumper:

https://darko.audio/2018/11/worth-the-wait-qobuz-us-launch-bumped-to-early-2019/

Déjà vu?

 

[bigx5murf]

I must be in the minority, I was an early adopter of streaming, but have since cancelled all my streaming subscriptions except for amazon prime, which I don't use. I've gone back to physical media, and just rip and serve from plex.

 

[Sal1950]

I started a account some time back but tried today and still got this message,

We are in a closed beta, only the users invited can signin/signup. Come back soon!

 

[Webninja]

Seems to work for me, just got to the credit card page. Might have to see if I like it better than Tidal.

 

[Ratatoskr]

There have been several workarounds for US residents that have been discovered allowing US IPs to sign up for Qobuz but they only seem to last for a few days. They close the loopholes. I was able to get in on the beta test so I have both Tidal and Qobuz.

I can speculate that the US rollout for Qobuz was delayed because there was a definite problem with sound quality using the early Qobuz desktop app on Windows 10: sporadic severe distortion that required me to exit the app and restart. In my case I tried the free trial of Audirvana+ for Win 10 and it had no problem with Qobuz, and also works with Tidal. I wound up spending the $75 for Audirvana+.

Qobuz has had several updates to their app, in fact I opened it yesterday and got a new update which seems to have cured the problem I was having. Hopefully they will open up subscription to the US soon. I find sound quality on Quobuz to be equal and on some files better than Tidal and have heard no watermarks on files streamed through Qobuz but have on Tidal non-MQA files.

If I had to live with only one streaming service I would pick Qobuz. Depending on your preferences you may find more of the music you like on Tidal. Classical and jazz fans will love Qobuz for example. Roon users are limited to Tidal though Qobuz keeps promising Roon integration.

 

[svart-hvitt]

There have been several workarounds for US residents that have been discovered allowing US IPs to sign up for Qobuz but they only seem to last for a few days. They close the loopholes. I was able to get in on the beta test so I have both Tidal and Qobuz.

I can speculate that the US rollout for Qobuz was delayed because there was a definite problem with sound quality using the early Qobuz desktop app on Windows 10: sporadic distortion that required me to exit the app and restart. In my case I tried the free trial of Audirvana+ for Win 10 and it had no problem with Qobuz, and also works with Tidal. I wound up spending the $75 for Audirvana+.

Qobuz has had several updates to their app in fact I opened it yesterday and got a new update which seems to have cured the problem I was having. Hopefully they will open up subscription to the US soon. I find sound quality on Quobuz to be equal and on some files better than Tidal and have heard no watermarks on files streamed through Qobuz but have on Tidal non-MQA files.

@Ratatoskr , you wrote: "I find sound quality on Quobuz to be equal and on some files better than Tidal and have heard no watermarks on files streamed through Qobuz but have on Tidal non-MQA files".

Could you be more specific. Not least regarding watermarking?

@andreasmaaan may have interest here?

 

[Ratatoskr]

@Ratatoskr , you wrote: "I find sound quality on Quobuz to be equal and on some files better than Tidal and have heard no watermarks on files streamed through Qobuz but have on Tidal non-MQA files".

Could you be more specific. Not least regarding watermarking?

@andreasmaaan may have interest here?

Try listening to solo piano using the same tracks on Tidal and Qobuz. One I can suggest is Yuja Wang's Sonatas & Etudes album. Also Google "Tidal UMG watermark playlist" for more examples and browse Universal's Audible Watermark.

 

[Sal1950]

Sound quality of the Qobuz lossless is going to have to blow Spotify's 320 stream out of the water before I'll switch. The Spotify interface is awesome and at $119.00 a year, it's a happy place for me.

 

[svart-hvitt]

Sound quality of the Qobuz lossless is going to have to blow Spotify's 320 stream out of the water before I'll switch. The Spotify interface is awesome and at $119.00 a year, it's a happy place for me.

Because MP3 vs CD quality never was a watershed night-day thing it seems like you still wait to explain a choice you already took

 

[graz_lag]

Hmm ...
Qobuz went thru the equivalent of Chapter 7 et/ou 11, in 2015, in France, after 9 years of operation. (It was founded in 2007.)
XANDRIE, the company that bought Qobuz, has then injected abt. 10 millions in order to reorganize the business.
2017's sales revenue was of abt. 10 millions, of which 50% in France. (With the rest from Germany, Spain, the UK, Italy.)
The EBITDA was of abt. 5 millions ...

The target for them is to make some money on 2021, as based on a sale turnover of 110 millions ...
Yes, 10x higher than the current one !!!
It looks veeeeeeeeeeeeeeery optimistic - really hoping they can succeed as the offer and overall quality is really very good.

It should added that they declare an ARPU - Average revenue per user of 178 EUR/year, so 2x higher than those of their competitors, Spotify was at 61 EUR/year in 2016, according to Bloomberg. Qobuz's target is to bring the ARPU at 200 EUR / year in 2021.

Finally, in addition to the US, they are also working on settlements into South America, using the Spanish market as bridge to succeed there.

 

[svart-hvitt]

Hmm ...
Qobuz went thru the equivalent of Chapter 7 et/ou 11, in 2015, in France, after 9 years of operation. (It was founded in 2007.)
XANDRIE, the company that bought Qobuz, has then injected abt. 10 millions in order to reorganize the business.
2017's sales revenue was of abt. 10 millions, of which 50% in France. (With the rest from Germany, Spain, the UK, Italy.)
The EBITDA was of abt. 5 millions ...

The target for them is to make some money on 2021, as based on a sale turnover of 110 millions ...
Yes, 10x higher than the current one !!!
It looks veeeeeeeeeeeeeeery optimistic - really hoping they can succeed as the offer and overall quality is really very good.

It should added that they declare an ARPU - Average revenue per user of 178 EUR/year, so 2x higher than those of their competitors, Spotify was at 61 EUR/year in 2016, according to Bloomberg. Qobuz's target is to bring the ARPU at 200 EUR / year in 2021.

Finally, in addition to the US, they are also working on settlements into South America, using the Spanish market as bridge to succeed there.

Thanks for data!

 

[graz_lag]

Because MP3 vs CD quality never was a watershed night-day thing it seems like you still wait to explain a choice you already took

 

[Sal1950]

Because MP3 vs CD quality never was a watershed night-day thing it seems like you still wait to explain a choice you already took

Not really, since I refuse to be included in generating any revenue for Jay Z and crew, I haven't had the chance to compare lossless streaming against Spotify 320, on my gear. Then after a month or two listening I'll decide if 2X the monthly cost is justified vs using Spoitfy for casual listening and previewing albums before purchasing a CD. Then there's the bits of user interface and the available music options, how well they fit your musical tastes and preferences.. When your retired and living on a fixed income all financial choices are considered.