SAN FRANCISCO: Apple will pay music artists a bonus payout of up to 10 per cent in royalties for creating songs in spatial audio.
Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking brings cinema-like sound from the film or video you’re watching, so that sound feels like it’s coming from all around you, when listening with AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and other headphones.
Artists on Apple Music will earn 10 per cent higher royalties for songs that are also available in spatial audio, according to a company update sent to record label partners and seen by 9to5Mac.
Starting with January’s month-end payout, “pro-rata shares for Spatial Available plays will be calculated using a factor of 1.1 while Non-Spatial Available plays will continue to use a factor of 1.”
Apple Music users do not need to listen to spatial audio for the artist to be rewarded with the bonus payout, the report noted.
The number of songs available in spatial audio has increased nearly 5,000 per cent since the feature was launched in 2021.
Since launch, the number of monthly spatial audio listeners has more than tripled, with more than 80 per cent of worldwide subscribers enjoying the experience, while monthly plays in Spatial Audio have grown by over 1,000 per cent, according to Apple.
Additionally, Apple Music has partnered with Mercedes-Benz to bring spatial audio to drivers worldwide for the first time.