Music Lovers' Platform of Choice Celebrates Third Anniversary on February 14th
February 10th, 2022 - Qobuz, the certified Hi-Res music streaming and download platform, is celebrating three years in the US. Since its debut in the states on Valentine's Day 2019, Qobuz has led the field with best-in-class sound and premium features - digital liner notes, original music editorial content, the Qobuz download store, etc - that make it the home for music lovers who want to get the best, most immersive music experience possible.
Since Qobuz launched in the US under the leadership of veteran music industry executive Dan Mackta (Qobuz Managing Director, US), companies such as Apple and Amazon have followed its lead by announcing their own hi-fi offerings. Mainstream headphone and hardware companies have increasingly enabled their devices to stream in Hi-Res, too - such as Sonos, which in 2021 teamed up with Qobuz to make streaming on their platform in Hi-Res possible for the first time ever. Manufacturers have also made DACs (digital-to-analog converter plug-ins) more affordable, allowing listeners to play full 24-bit Hi-Res on their smartphones and computers easily. The THX Onyx DAC (THX's first-ever consumer product), for example, partnered with Qobuz last year to make Hi-Res streaming more easily available than ever. And many of the audio world's most influential individuals, such as Neil Young, have pointed listeners towards Qobuz to enjoy their music, lauding the service's commitment to Hi-Res and high quality content.
As audio has made this big dent in the US market, Qobuz has remained the music lover's go-to by offering not just the best quality music, but the most satisfying experience overall. A boutique in a superstore world, Qobuz caters to the most discerning fans with an array of features found nowhere else. Between exclusive artist curated playlists, essays from notable music journalists like Annie Zaleski, Tom Moon, and Robert Baird, and digital booklets, it's the closest thing to "visiting a record shop, hearing from the owner and just listening to an album" (Rolling Stone) that a person can get with the convenience and ease of streaming from a smartphone.
Since the 2019 launch, the US has become the second biggest market for Qobuz, after its native France. The streaming service saw a 50% increase in US subscribers in 2021 over the previous year. The Qobuz download store has seen a similar 50% increase in sales this past year over 2020.
Dan Mackta said of Qobuz' three years so far in the US: "I've known since my first day at Qobuz that our approach was unique and that we would find an audience. The changes in the market have accelerated our growth beyond expectations, and I couldn't be more grateful to our dedicated team and our loyal streaming and download customers."
Here are a few other accomplishments from its first three years:
** Teamed up with Wayne Coyne to launch the first "Artist-Approved Sound" campaign
** Worked with Christian McBride to create and release end-to-end Hi-Res recorded EP exclusive to Qobuz, The Q Sessions
** Partnered with the biggest names in audio and hardware: Roon, Bowers & Wilkins, Sonos, THX, and Harman
** Collaborated with Ahmet Zappa and Zappa Records to exclusively release several Frank Zappa albums in Hi-Res, as well as other Zappa-related works such as Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica, in Hi-Res for the first time and Zappa Band live albums from the 2021 tour.
** Launched Qobuz Live, a thousands-viewed weekly talk show featuring experts from all over the music and audio worlds, including Perry Farrell, the late Greg Tate, and Bill Schnee.
And here's what the press, and some of the audio world's most important influencers, have said:
"Qobuz reminds me of listening to my favorite college radio DJs in the early 80's, who really knew their music and cared about turning us on to it"
Wayne Coyne
(Listen to The Flaming Lips on Qobuz here: qob.uz/the-flaminglips)
"That is a great service"
Neil Young
(Listen to Neil on Qobuz here: qob.uz/neil-young)
"Qobuz offers the best of both worlds: you get the enormous library of a streaming service with the quality and purchasability of CDs and vinyl records."
Rolling Stone
"I expect that most audiophiles, musicians, and others who have a strong personal or professional interest in music reproduction will make a calculation similar to mine and invest a little extra in getting the best sound [with Qobuz]"
New York Times' Wirecutter
"Fans on Qobuz can experience Frank [Zappa's] genius in the way he would have wanted his music to sound."
Bruce Resnikoff, President & CEO of UMe.
"As far as I'm concerned, the ‘z' in Qobuz stands for Zappa"
Ahmet Zappa
"Our favorite service for serious music lovers"
CNET
"Qobuz has been at the forefront of high resolution music streaming"
Ryan Richards, Director of Product Marketing at Sonos
"Qobuz offers an exceptional range of music genres as well as exclusive editorial content independently curated by a team of experts"
American Songwriter
About Qobuz
Founded in 2007, a pioneer of high-quality sound, Qobuz is the French music streaming and download service that meets the needs of demanding music lovers and audiophiles. Available in 19 countries around the world, in Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan (Hi-Res download service only). Qobuz offers an exceptional range of exclusive editorial content written by a team of experts. With its catalog of more than 70 million tracks, Qobuz also has the richest choice of high-resolution (Hi-Res) references on the market. Qobuz is licensed for Hi-Res Audio by the Japan Audio Society (JAS). For more information, visit qobuz.com
