If you are an audiophile who craves excellent sound quality by streaming standards, then you will have at least heard of Qobuz. The French platform launched in 2007, and calls itself the “artist-first, independent streaming platform for music lovers who care”.
The landscape of music streaming has been rapidly changing even in the last few years, so what better way to understand how Qobuz is moving with the times than to talk to the company's Managing Director Dan Mackta?
Mackta is clearly a huge music fan first and foremost. He explains that he played in punk bands as a kid and was a college radio DJ (keep reading to see which albums and artists he has on repeat at the moment).
We speak to him via video call from his home in Staten Island (featuring his sleepy dog snoozing at his feet) in order to understand how the streaming industry is changing.
The AI conundrum
We begin with a burning topic in the streaming industry at the moment: the rise of AI music. Qobuz has made its stance clear, and Mackta, of course, holds the same opinions.
He says: “My belief is that music is something that can only work if it's an intentional creation of one human being experienced by another human.”
Qobuz released its AI Charter back in February, which states that “AI can be a value amplifier, never a substitute for human judgment.” Mackta says that the AI music tags are coming soon. He explained: “The idea is that if an artist uses an AI tool built into their workstation for mastering or mixing, but with music that was created by humans, then that’s not going to get detected.”
Mackta added that “somebody working with one of these tools and typing in ‘make me 1000 birthday songs with different names in’ as a prompt that uses generative AI from the beginning – that’s the biggest issue.”
He summarises the whole AI situation pretty perfectly with: “I can’t think of any other word for it other than [that it's] a bummer.”
Qobuz is far from the only streaming service to clamp down on AI music, with Deezer and Tidal both releasing their own policies. Every platform is taking its own approach, and Mackta says that Qobuz's "whole policy is meant to be somewhat flexible as things develop”.
The new generation
When the platform was founded, Mackta says the brand was known “as the audiophile's service”.
He says: "That was our core and median age, which is 35-plus. It was mostly dudes in their fifties and sixties calling our customer service and asking how to turn on their computer. We were happy to be really well respected in that niche.”
What is on Mackta's playlist right now?
Devo, Nitrous Nightmare (Halloween Live)
“This was proto-Devo when they were pretty raw, recorded in 1975.”
Various Artists, Unearthed African Recordings, Volume 1
“So much of the music that came out of Africa in the ’60s and ’70s can only be found on tape. This new label has released dozens of albums by locating this material, restoring, digitising and remastering it.”
But, around two years ago, things really started to shift. Mackta attributes this to the idea that “people in general are waking up to the idea of being more aware of who they are spending their money with. That’s just a cultural thing that has started to really take more hold in recent years and is driven by Gen Z”.
Collaborations with other brands have also shown the brand’s passion for music. The most notable is its partnership with Rough Trade, where Qobuz subscribers can access discounts at Rough Trade stores. On top of that, the two brands team up to host and co-produce live events.
“It’s done what I hoped it would do, which is to become a sort of signal to music people that we are legit,” Mackta says, adding that, although the streaming service is continuing to grow, “authenticity is what we are aiming for”.
There are some exciting developments on the horizon for Qobuz. Dolby Atmos integration is being discussed, with Mackta saying "we are in active talks with [Dolby] about trying to figure out ways to do it faster and sooner". We will be keeping a keen eye out for this, as well as any more changes that are coming to the streaming service.
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Here's our review of Qobuz
Hi-res streaming hits record stores as Rough Trade and Qobuz announce global partnership
