Spatial Audio is coming to Apple Music, and Zane Lowe, Apple’s co-head of Artist Relations, talks about the new technology and how it will transform music.
Spatial Audio in Apple Music
Introduced with AirPods Pro, Spatial Audio lets audio engineers place different sounds in 3D space. You can find it in Apple TV right now; when you turn your head, the direction of the audio changes. As Mr. Lowe points out, this will create a concert-like experience with your everyday Apple products:
I believe what is going to happen is that artists will start to hear things they haven’t heard before. Imagine Billy Corgan saying to the engineer, “When I created the guitar at the beginning of ‘Quiet’ in 1993 I wanted it to be heard from three-and-a-half miles behind you, and then I want it to land in front of your face in 3.2 seconds just as Jimmy Chamberlin’s drums begin.” Now, obviously, I’m not Billy Corgan and I just made that up. But if I can think about how it’s going to go, imagine what he’s going to do?
Along with Spatial Audio, Apple also announced that its entire music catalog will be delivered to customers in lossless audio.