Happy Anniversary to Qobuz! On February 14th, Qobuz, the Hi-Res streaming service, will celebrate the one-year anniversary of its launch in the United States.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Dan Mackta, Managing Director, Qobuz USA, and he told me that it’s been quite a busy year for Qobuz. That busy year has paid off as Qobuz has become the streaming platform of choice for audiophiles in the U.S.
First-Year Milestones
The sign above greeted us as we walked into the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Tampa last week for the Florida Audio Expo. In fact, Qobuz signage seemed to be everywhere at the show including in the listening rooms.
I asked Dan how Qobuz has gained so many followers in the U.S. audiophile community in just one year, and he was quick to credit David Solomon, who has the lofty title of Chief Hi-Res Music Evangelist. “He brought great existing relationships and a lot of enthusiasm for pushing the industry forward. What a difference a year makes in terms of where we were at this point last year,” Mackta said. And yes, David was at the Florida show meeting everyone, doing the DJ thing for several rooms, and just having a good time and taking the time to talk to everyone about Qobuz.
Partnerships and the Qobuz Society
In addition to the buzz generated at audio shows, Mackta credits some significant partnerships that have driven awareness and adoption for Qobuz. One of these partnerships is with Roon Labs. “People use that audio software, and they forget that Qobuz has only been available on it for a year. So, they are a really important partner for us.” Other significant partnerships include integrations with Control4 home automation systems, Cambridge Audio and the most recently announced integration with Naim Audio. “All of these native integrations are something that I think really differentiates us from everybody else. Doing this and doing it right has been important for us,” he says.
Another significant milestone has been the development of the Qobuz Society dealer network. This network includes over 300 stores that range from U.S. Hi-Fi retailers to Best Buy Magnolia Design Centers. “Using Qobuz in their environment and promoting Qobuz to their customers by giving out free trials really is helping us spread the word about audio quality and streaming. All that in just this first year is something that we are really proud of,” Mackta says.
Qobuz and Manufacturers
While no one expects analog to go away, DACs and streaming have become a part of every high-end system we see at shows, so I asked Dan about Qobuz’s relationship with companies that manufacture streaming devices. “Well we are working with just about everybody in some fashion or another whether it’s natively integrating into their operating system the way you see with Naim, or we are accessible through Roon, but we look to do a few different things.” Dan explained that one of those things is to invite manufacturers to put together a publicly accessible and branded demo playlist that will live on Qobuz. He says this is a nice practical tool, but it is also a key piece of branding that gives Qobuz an organic connection to the different manufacturers. “It also gives customers something to go to first when they are setting up their equipment at home to hear what the manufacturers recommend that they experiment with to set up their systems,” Mackta added.
Another thing that some manufacturers are doing is to offer bundles where a year or two of Qobuz streaming is included when you buy a streamer DAC. “If you are spending thousands of dollars on the hardware,” Mackta says, “it’s a nice value add to have it come with a Qobuz subscription. I just think it makes sense. We’ve just started doing this, and I think the pricing and value of Qobuz are being made. We are only $15 dollars a month, so it gives us more opportunities to do different things like bundles.”
Audiophiles and the Qobuz Catalog
“If you drive a Ferrari, you put premium gas in it. That’s what I tell audiophiles about using Qobuz,” Mackta says adding, “I like to think that Qobuz is a great digital component of sorts in a system where you otherwise might be listening to analog. If you are going to do digital and you are going to do streaming, it’s got to be at least lossless otherwise you are going to experience a big difference in quality between your analog and your digital, and it doesn’t have to be that way.” Qobuz currently offers more than 50-million tracks and millions of Hi-Res tracks up to 24-bit/192 kHz resolution from all genres from mainstream music to jazz, classical and other specialist genres that Mackta is happy to discuss.
Even with such a large catalog, the discerning audiophile will find that there are some recordings that aren’t available on Qobuz. Mackta says there are three reasons why something may not be available. “If they aren’t on other streaming services, that means that it has not been made available digitally for streaming for anybody.” Then, he admits that there are sometimes mistakes where a recording that should be there isn’t. The Qobuz team works to resolve issues with missing albums very quickly. “We don’t know about it until someone tells us about them, however,” he adds.
The third reason for an album not being in the catalog is that a lot of artists own the rights to their own music and there are a number of ways these artists get their music out, but it’s not through the big labels. “We have relationships with most of the aggregators that artists use but not all of them. We still have to sign more deals, but again, we’ve only been in the market for one year. That’s something you will see less and less of,” he says adding, “Our catalog is getting bigger all the time. There are tons of new music being released every week. There are these holes, but to the degree that we can clean it up, we are working on it.”
What to Look for in the Future
Talking to Mackta, it was clear that the Qobuz team wasn’t going to be content with the accomplishments of year one. There are some big things coming that Mackta was excited to share. Although the global Qobuz team is under 100, Mackta said, “We are trying to be as responsive as we can to customers and potential customers. We are listening to a lot of the things people have been asking for, including a family plan, which is coming this year.” Another thing customers are asking for is radio play, or the ability for continuous play. Improvements in recommendations for what to listen to are also in the works.
Wrapping up the interview, Mackta said, “We really welcome people to give streaming a try. We offer a free one-month trial, and we are finding that once people try it, they are really loving it. Come on in, the water is fine!”
