High-fidelity subscription music streaming service Qobuz has announced that it will launch a music streaming service in Japan.
The streaming service will be combined with Qobuz’s existing high-resolution music download service in the country to provide a “first-of-its-kind” music streaming and download platform.
The superlative of “first of its kind” probably refers to the combination of streaming and downloading, as this isn’t the first high-definition streaming service to hit the Japanese market. Amazon Music offers HD service in the country, and Sony Music Entertainment Japan runs a high-definition music streaming service called Delay qualityuntil the service shuts down in 2022.
Japan’s music consumption market is somewhat unusual, with relatively little progress in streaming while physical music continues to sell well. Qobuz saw an opportunity in this.
“Although streaming media dominates the global music market, 67% Japan presents a unique pattern, with the physical market still accounting for more than 50% sales,” the France-based company said in a statement on Thursday (October 24).
“Paid streaming lags behind 30% market share (with more than 50% is showing significant growth in a country where products are still limited and dominated by a few major players….
“Japanese music lovers are known for their high standards for sound quality, and they are the ideal audience for Qobuz’s high-quality products.”
Qobuz launched as a digital music store in 2007 and was acquired by Xandrie SA in 2015.
Its expansion into new markets accelerates $11 million 2020 round of financing.
“Japanese music lovers are known for their high standards for sound quality, and they are the ideal audience for Qobuz’s high-quality products.”
kobuz
The service first entered the Japanese market in 2021, when it acquired Onkyo Electronicsa digital music download store run by an electronics manufacturer Enbridge.
Our expansion into the Japanese streaming space “marks a major turning point and brings us closer to our monetization goals. We are proud to provide Japanese music lovers with an invaluable music experience that combines superior sound quality, rich editorial content and music discovery” Together,” Qobuz Deputy CEO George Fornet explain.
“This expansion into the world’s second-largest music market, where streaming is booming, is perfectly timed and solidifies our position as the undisputed benchmark for high-quality streaming and downloads.”
Qobuz offers “uncompressed, uncompromised” audio quality ranging from 16-bit (CD quality) to 24-bit/up to 192 kHz, and now DXD and DSD.
“This expansion into the world’s second-largest music market, where streaming is booming, is perfectly timed and solidifies our position as the undisputed benchmark for high-quality streaming and downloads.”
Georges Fornay, Cobz
One of the great advantages of high-resolution music streaming services like Qobuz is that the leading music streaming media, Spotifyhas not yet entered the field of high-fidelity audio.
However, that may soon change, as Spotify’s upcoming “Super-Premium” tier is widely expected to include high-resolution audio, although this has yet to be officially confirmed.
During a July earnings call, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek It said subscribers to the service can expect “higher quality across the board” on the new subscription tier.global music business
