Leading independent record labels have voiced concerns about Apple’s new spatial audio royalty program. Many labels believe the initiative could financially benefit larger companies at the expense of indie acts.
Apple recently announced bonuses of up to 10% for songs produced using their spatial audio format. Tracks in this 3D audio style would receive a greater share of profits from overall streaming revenues on Apple Music. Executives from Beggars Group, Secretly Group, and Partisan Records took issue with this approach.
It is estimated that encoding music with spatial audio abilities adds significant costs, around $1000 per song or $10,000 for a full album. Updating older catalogs could prove even more expensive. The label heads expressed worry that only the biggest and wealthiest artists signed to major record labels would be able to foot the bill for spatial audio production.
Without the resources to invest in 3D mixing and mastering, independent and rising musicians may end up earning less from their streams on Apple’s platform. Music distribution giants like Universal Music could more easily absorb any losses from artists unable to adopt spatial audio.
While services like Amazon Music and Tidal also offer spatial music playback, Spotify has not rolled out comparable spatial audio integration. Apple has heavily pushed its proprietary spatial format through devices like AirPods. The independent labels hope the company will reconsider policies that could marginalize smaller labels and DIY artists.
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