Amazon Remastering Music With Universal and Warner Music

[The Computer Audiophile]

This has serious implications for streaming, not just those of us who like quality. This content seems to be exclusive to Amazon. That stinks. 

 

The article is linked here, but is behind a paywall. Below is some info. 

 

https://www.ft.com/content/26bdd300-e907-4036-a908-ad7ac2d634e7

 

Note: If you click this link to a Google search, you may get to read the article without paying, as it's the first result and sometimes FT allows reading this way.

 

Amazon has teamed up with Universal Music and Warner Music to remaster thousands of popular streaming tracks to better-than-CD audio quality, as the music industry tries to lure listeners to pricier subscriptions. 

 

In addition to a standard $10 a month streaming service comparable to Spotify, Amazon offers a high-definition option that delivers songs to smartphones at CD sound quality or better. This service costs $15 a month, or $13 a month for members of its Prime shipping programme. The ecommerce group has spent the past year working to boost its pricier streaming service with albums from stars including Lady Gaga, Nirvana, Ariana Grande and Bob Marley in what it calls "ultra high-definition." To do so, Universal Music went back to the original recordings of albums such as Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye's Diana & Marvin and worked with sound engineers to remaster them. Amazon says the audio will "reveal nuances that were once flattened in files compressed for digital streaming or CD manufacturing." The move comes as the inflow of cash from music streaming has slowed over the past year as the market matures

 

There is a “real business case to take high-quality audio to the mainstream”, Steve Boom, Amazon’s head of music, told the Financial Times in an interview. As streaming has become mainstream in the US and Europe, Amazon is betting that sound quality will give it an advantage in the battle for customers. The only other big music service that offers high-definition streaming is Tidal, at a cost of at least $20 a month. Amazon in January said it had 55m music users. 

 

“We’re not marketing this to be just for audiophiles,” Mr Boom said. “Our focus is making this mainstream”.

[The Computer Audiophile]

It's an exclusive and some god titles will be remastered. Bummer and cool. 

 

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/amazon-music-partners-with-universal-warner-to-exclusively-offer-streaming-albums-in-better-than-cd-quality-ultra-hd/

[The Computer Audiophile]

As expected, it’s a soup sandwich. Does anyone involved high high resolution audio at Amazon have any clue what’s going on? Seems like they don’t. 
 

Here’s Charles Mingus. Supposed to be newly remastered exclusive content to Amazon. But, the date on the album is 1995. Other than clicking the special button on the front page to show the exclusives, there’s no way to know what’s a newly remastered exclusive. 
 

In addition, there’s virtually no good way to play this stuff on a HiFi system. 
 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, Meridimac said:

2) Amazon Music application running on desktop computer will supply streams up to the capability of the connected DAC. Sounds good, but no voice control.

 

Thanks for the message. Have you checked to see if the audio is being sent to your audio device in its native resolution? The desktop app has been notorious for not switching sample rates and otherwise mangling the audio. 

 

In addition, there's no way to remote control it. So, it's sit at your computer and change tracks or nothing. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

17 minutes ago, seeteeyou said:

 

Maybe it might not be THAT easy then? Does it mean that the only way to confirm the TRUE sampling rate is something that's actually shown on the DAC itself?

 

 

As always their staff simply brushed a customer off just like this

 

https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D54P00007SWdU3/amazon-music-hd-important-exclusive-mode-issue

 

Older discussions below

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonMusic/comments/fi3j0r/new_exclusive_mode_on_amazon_music_hd/

https://www.amazonforum.com/s/question/0D54P00006zSwiASAS/hd-and-ultra-hd-lack-of-exclusive-control-of-the-dac

 

Finally I don't really think this is getting anywhere close to a genuine solution for Mac either

 

https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/bits-and-bytes/amazon-music-hd-with-ios-macos-windows-10-bluos-and-a-sonos-port-r848/

 

Yes, the only solution is to see what the DAC receives. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 hours ago, mkrzych said:

 

Well, to me it's like trying to sell and turn to success something what has been screwed up in the past with awful mastering practices and smashed dynamic range!

I hope you’re right. I wish we had access to the DR numbers of these releases.