Sony prepares for launch of 360 Reality Audio later in the autumn and announces partnerships to deliver its immersive audio experience with leading streamers – Amazon, Deezer, nugs.net, TIDAL and Napster. Sony’s immersive audio experience utilising object-based spatial audio technology will be launched later this autumn to listeners in Europe, the US with an initial release of approximately 1,000 songs in this brand-new format from artists such as Billy Joel, Bob Dylan and Pharrell Williams through streaming services Amazon Music HD, Deezer, nugs.net and TIDAL.
First introduced at CES 2019, 360 Reality Audio is an object-based spatial audio technology making it possible for artists and music creators to produce a music experience, by mapping sound sources such as vocals, chorus and instruments with positional information, and placing them within a spherical space. According to Sony, ‘when listeners hear content produced in the 360 Reality Audio music format, they will experience an immersion into sound that closely mimics the omni-directional soundscape of a live musical performance.’
Sony is working with major music labels (Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group), Live Nation, music distribution services and other music organisations to provide the technology for building a musical ecosystem around 360 Reality Audio, which will include the creation, distribution and playing of music content. Sony will also provide specifications for the 360 Reality Audio music format with the cooperation of Fraunhofer IIS, part of Europe’s largest organisation for applied research.
Mike Fasulo, president and chief operating officer, Sony Electronics (North America) said, “360 Reality Audio is a proof point that innovation never stops. The confluence of deep technical roots, tireless artists and forward-thinking hardware and semiconductor partners illustrates the tremendous draw of this radical new way to make music even more moving. Together with valued industry partners, Sony has architected the most powerful, realistic music experience for listeners and a new medium for artists to create.”
Sony is initially participating with Amazon Music HD, Deezer, nugs.net and TIDAL. Sony is also working with Napster to develop the solution of 360 Reality Audio streaming for further expansion of service providers via its ‘Powered by Napster’ service.
360 Reality Audio hardware compatibility
Headphones
360 Reality Audio can be experienced using headphones from most manufacturers when combined with an Android/iOS smartphone that has a participating streaming services app installed but 360 Reality Audio on Amazon Music HD currently will only play on Echo Studio. Sony’s headphones and its Sony Headphone Connect app have been specifically designed to optimise the 360 Reality Audio experience and further details can be found here.
Speakers
Users will require a speaker system with Sony’s unique decoder of the 360 Reality Audio music format, multiple speaker units and signal processing technology. Compatible songs can also be played back from Amazon Music HD using Echo Studio.
Sony has also partnered with platform and chipset providers, in order to make 360 Reality Audio usable in a wide range of future connected devices using Amazon Alexa and Google Chromecast.
Content Creation
Sony is collaborating with Live Nation, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to add even more 360 Reality Audio content in 2020. Sony is also working with studios to prepare a content creation environment.
The 360 Reality Audio Music Format
With cooperation from Fraunhofer IIS, part of Europe’s largest organization for applied research, the format will be compliant with MPEG-H 3D Audio, an international open audio standard, and optimized for music streaming. As licensors, Sony and Fraunhofer IIS will continue working to expand the available content library, participating streaming services and compatible audio devices moving forward.
For more information visit Sony’s 360 Reality Audio website here.
