Qobuz Celebrates Four Years in the U.S.
Since Qobuz launched as America’s first Hi-Res streaming and download service in 2019 — four years ago this week — it has led the market in sound quality and commitment to music while driving year-after-year growth, cultivating a discerning fan base, counting everyone from Christian McBride to Neil Young, and expanding its offering to include best-in-class exclusive releases, online and in-person events, and more.
In the wake of Qobuz’ 2019 US launch, other streamers have played catch-up by adding or announcing higher-level listening tiers, and this Qobuz-started Hi-Res domino effect has helped kick the idea of better sound from the audiophile world into the mainstream: sales of hardware have exploded, people are placing more value on the listening “experience” (just look at 30-year-high vinyl sales), and better-sounding music has graduated in accessibility from its once thousands-of-dollars barrier of entry.
And throughout the Hi-Res streaming revolution that it triggered, Qobuz has retained its role as the only true choice for music lovers.
In addition to having the best sound, the company also leads the field in adding context to the music by offering PDF booklets and credits, highly curated playlists, expert editorial features including Panoramas (deep dives into an artist’s catalog or a singular work, influential eras, and record labels) and more for the music lover who wants to be immersed in what they’re hearing. When music industry pundit Bob Lefsetz first tried Qobuz, he said “If you want to get closer to the music, you want Qobuz.”
Here are a few highlights of Qobuz’s first four years:
• The streaming service saw a 38% increase in US subscribers in the 2022 calendar year, and download sales were up by 17%, in a world that has seen download sales decline nearly across the board.
• In the past year, the US has become the biggest market for Qobuz. Qobuz is now available in 25 countries.
• A wide array of trendsetting artists have partnered with Qobuz, with Wayne Coyne and Christian McBride serving as Qobuz artist ambassadors. Other artists and labels who have released projects exclusively on Qobuz include Zappa Records / Captain Beefheart, Tower of Power, Makaya McCraven, International Anthem, Westbound Records, THX (Dinosaur Jr., Anat Cohen, Circuit des Yeux), Jazz Dispensary, Concord.
• Neil Young has become a vocal fan, using platforms like The Howard Stern Show to shout out Qobuz and direct listeners to stream music in Hi-Res. Last fall, to celebrate the release of the Neil + Crazy Horse album World Record, Qobuz put out a Times Square billboard which Neil shared to his personal website. To continue the celebration of the new album, Crazy Horse’s own Nils Lofgren and Billy Talbot joined Qobuz Live for a conversation on their music and process.
• The biggest names in audio and hardware have also partnered with Qobuz: Roon, Bowers & Wilkins, Sonos, THX, and Harman, Yamaha, NAD/Bluesound, Klipsch, SVS, Crestron, Grado. Many DACs have partnered with Qobuz (THX, Dragonfly) to make Hi-Res streaming (in full) more accessible at various price points.
• Qobuz supports and has become the official streaming partner of most high-end audio shows and is proud to support the high-end audio industry at AXPONA, Capital AudioFest, Florida Audio Expo, Pacific Audio Fest, Audio Advice, Munich High End.
• The top music journalists work to help Qobuz deliver the best editorial around. Writers who have written for Qobuz include Pitchfork contributor and Metro Times music editor Mike McGonigal, Robert Baird (The New Yorker, The Paris Review), and former LA Times music staff writer Randall Roberts.
• Since the pandemic, Qobuz has brought its “boutique in a superstore world” approach to digital music through partnerships with the likes of Record Store Day and Secretly Group’s Paved Paradise traveling record fair, and events like the 2022 Qobuz SXSW showcase featuring Circuit des Yeux and Moor Mother among other up-and-coming artists, as well as a recurring show series (ft. a live-music-to-Hi-Res-exclusive pipeline) with International Anthem at Brooklyn’s Public Records.
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