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QOBUZ IN AMERICA

svart-hvitt

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Qobuz is coming soon to the U.S.

This news reports casts light on their preparations:

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide....vice-qobuz-hired-dan-mackta-as-md-in-the-usa/

New managing director in the U.S. and their new French CEO was hired just recently as well, in April 2018.

I am anxious to see how or if Qobuz succeeds in the biggest music market in the world. And I look forward to hearing what ASR members think of Qobuz’ prospects - and not least how they find the Qobuz service when it launches shortly (in Q3?).
 
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amirm

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I know Cohen and Solomon and they are good choices. What they need though is a few million dollars in up front cash/minimum guarantees to get licenses from US labels. As charming as David Solomon is, he won't be able to get past this barrier. So hopefully they are well funded.

The other hassle is that they need licenses from smaller/independent labels. There, you have to negotiate with hundreds of companies to get their music rights. Maybe they have this from their European work but the amount of paperwork involved is immense.
 
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svart-hvitt

svart-hvitt

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I know Cohen and Solomon and they are good choices. What they need though is a few million dollars in up front cash/minimum guarantees to get licenses from US labels. As charming as David Solomon is, he won't be able to get past this barrier. So hopefully they are well funded.

The other hassle is that they need licenses from smaller/independent labels. There, you have to negotiate with hundreds of companies to get their music rights. Maybe they have this from their European work but the amount of paperwork involved is immense.

@amirm , your request for a handful of $$$ may already have been managed by Qobuz:

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide....aming-service-mulls-stock-exchange-flotation/

Quote: «For its part, advised by KPMG and confirming this market trend, Qobuz has initiated its third round of fundraising, which should be closed at the end of June 2018, before considering an IPO in the next 18 to 24 months».

So let’s see if they manage to build momentum and launch a high quality U.S. service.
 

gvl

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Qobuz US coming has been bubbling in the background for quite a while but nothing real yet. I just wish Spotify added a lossless subscription tier and WASAPI or ASIO support, I would be all set.
 

gvl

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My understanding Tidal is bleeding money, why Qobuz would be any different?
 
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svart-hvitt

svart-hvitt

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I did not intend to imply Spotify was in a much better shape, but as a newcomer Qobuz will struggle competing with established brands in the US.

Yes, Qobuz is the new kid on the block and will probably make all sorts of mistakes.

However, their European service is almost as good as Tidal’s. And their profile is much more oriented towards this guy (thanks to @RayDunzl for providing the picture in another thread on why he quit Tidal):

index.php
 

Sal1950

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svart-hvitt

svart-hvitt

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gvl

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The fact that for a number of years they consistently ignore requests to add ASIO and/or WASAPI support to their Windows desktop app is enough for me to believe they don't truly care. Lossless tier will likely negatively affect their bottom line given the investments they need to do to bolster the infrastructure and add additional content, they may add it after they are no longer in the red if that ever happens.
 

Soniclife

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The other hassle is that they need licenses from smaller/independent labels. There, you have to negotiate with hundreds of companies to get their music rights.
I thought the indie labels had formed a group so they had more clout, and firms only negotiated with the group. Maybe this was europe only.

It's going to be interesting to see where this all ends up when the dust settles in a few years. My best guess is there will be one dominant player (probably spotify), another large but not anything like as large player (probably Apple), and a third player that is sort of invisible but provides the backend to loads of niche services that offer specific branding, pricing and services, audiophiles being one of the obvious groups to target.
 
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svart-hvitt

svart-hvitt

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The fact that for a number of years they consistently ignore requests to add ASIO and/or WASAPI support to their Windows desktop app is enough for me to believe they don't truly care. Lossless tier will likely negatively affect their bottom line given the investments they need to do to bolster the infrastructure and add additional content, they may add it after they are no longer in the red if that ever happens.

I don’t believe they’ll launch lossless shortly either. After 5G, we’ll see. And they already have lots of competency on digital audio, much more than meets the eye.
 
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svart-hvitt

svart-hvitt

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I thought the indie labels had formed a group so they had more clout, and firms only negotiated with the group. Maybe this was europe only.

It's going to be interesting to see where this all ends up when the dust settles in a few years. My best guess is there will be one dominant player (probably spotify), another large but not anything like as large player (probably Apple), and a third player that is sort of invisible but provides the backend to loads of niche services that offer specific branding, pricing and services, audiophiles being one of the obvious groups to target.

I was thinking the other day...why wouldn’t Roon, some time, start a streaming service...
 

gvl

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It would seem that streaming prices need to go up for the streaming services to be profitable. Would you pay $20/mo for Spotify? I probably would but I'm sure such an increase would cause massive exodus of subscribers.
 

Sal1950

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It would seem that streaming prices need to go up for the streaming services to be profitable. Would you pay $20/mo for Spotify? I probably would but I'm sure such an increase would cause massive exodus of subscribers.
Yep, guess that's the bottom line. Spotify did run that lossless test, maybe hardly anyone offered showed interest? If it was showing a profitable customer base I believe they'd jump on it in a flash. As it is Tidal is circling the toilet (couldn't happen to a nicer guy) and the Qobuz thing is probably more about opening the US market.
I think we may be enjoying the golden days of streaming. Either the prices have to increase significantly or the providers will eventually fail.
 

Frank Dernie

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I have subscribed to Qobuz for a couple of years, I don't use it a huge amount but since I buy the things I like their prices are pretty good.
Funnily enough I have just finished listening to their latest classical collection on a pair of Devialet Phantoms and the sound has been great.
 
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