From Amazon Music HD to MQA and its various partnerships, there is plenty of activity going on around ‘hi-res’ music. Still, it’s fair to say the technology isn’t quite mainstream yet.
Research firm Futuresource has some ideas about what the remaining obstacles are, which it has outlined in an article.
A limited content library is the first: “The current size of the High-Res music catalogue is under 3 million songs on most High-Res streaming services as opposed to over 60 million on mainstream streaming platforms,” it claims.
The article also pinpoints limited support from ‘mainstream’ streaming services: Spotify and Apple Music specifically, although third-placed Amazon is very much in this space.
The most controversial point might be Futuresource’s claim that even at the fast-standardising price of $14.99 a month, hi-res streaming subscriptions are still “too expensive for most consumers, especially considering the limited size of the High-Res catalogue currently available”.
Music Ally’s next Learn Live webinar will help you understand what’s required for artists to thrive in new international markets!