Qobuz

I'm pretty sure the three I bought were cheaper than Amazon, or at least within a dollar. I prefer downloads because I've run out of space to store CDs, but I still buy CDs if they're cheaper than downloads. I'm also not interested in hirez which is why I've only bought a few albums from HDTracks, all of which were OOP and expensive in physical media.

 

I would hate to see qobuz go. I just downloaded the "Only Lovers Left Alive" Soundtrack for € 9.99 today. It's nice to have a site for lossless downloads. When the CD is cheaper, I get that one, but sometimes qobuz offers the files for less than the CD and some of the hi-res albums are priced quite reasonable too.

 

I agree, grabbed a couple Skinny Puppy singles the other day

 

It's going quite well. You are missing the quarterly declines in digital album sales?? If people can get free streaming, please explain to me why they should pay for it.

 

There's no doubt the on-demand radio (streaming) is the future of mass market music consumption. Let's just hope that there remains a higher quality alternative until hi-Rez streaming becomes a reality.

Bill

 

iTunes needs to offer the same types of downloads that Qobuz is offering. 24-bit "Studio Masters" for people who want them; but it should be 16/44.1 ALAC files across the board. I admit that 256kbps AAC sounds good enough most of the time, but when I can go get a CD, most of the time at equal or lesser price, why should I buy the compressed download?

 

I don't think so. Declining, yes. Dying? Not even close.

Where can people get lossless free streaming?

 

Qobuz is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. All because it couldn't raise a few million Euros. Chump change in the scheme of things. Where is the market for Paying for lossless streaming??

 

You did not answer the question. Where can people get FREE LOSSLESS streaming.

You said why should people pay if they can get "free" streaming, and it is rather obvious you meant FREE LOSSY streaming.

False equivalency. Lossy is just not acceptable the majority of those who are looking to replace physical media.

 

It is not acceptable to thee and me maybe, although through my Macintosh tube tuner I can make the local radio stations broadcasting their MP3 streams rather listenable in a glamorized way. I am pointing out that commercially speaking rather than metaphysically speaking lossy free streaming can very well replace digital album sales. Of course there may be also some niche market for lossless digital albums along with us vinyl Luddites.

 

I agree with your post.

But Qobuz's difficulty runs deeper..first, their prices are HIGH. Second, their web catalog and interface is just ok, and confusing to many.

Great idea, mediocre execution.

 

Leaving aside the Qobuz interface, you are spotlighting the issue in pricing. What the music biz is discovering is that the price point where a small but commercially significant share of the market opts for Paid lossless vs Free lossy is distressingly low. This is Not the CD jewelbox pot o gold. of the 80s. The same discovery is being made in lossless vs lossy downloads. Apparently, it doesn't permit sharing profits with all kinds of middlemen.

Increasing bandwidth may be used to provide attached video as in archived lossy concert streaming rather than hi rez files. Even I am more willing to put up with lossy streams if I can see the Berlin Philharmonic in concert etc. I see nothing that supports the idea of commercially significant lossless digital albums at this point. We need a miracle in which DSD/DXD bandwidth costs nothing and is available on the cheapest mobile devices.

 

That's not going to happen anytime soon. DXD/DSD will always remain niche audio formats for the foreseeable future and you and I will have to purchase them a la carte at premium prices. There's too much profitability in the existing business models to risk streaming ultra high definition and resolution music albums for free of charge right now. The bandwidth is not there for the majority of American homes and businesses let alone the rest of the world.

 

My point about DXD/DSD related simply to that level of bandwidth not those particular formats. I was talking about paid hirez streaming being viable only if the delivery costs were essentially zero to all devices.

However you raise an interesting point I hadn't considered for some reason. Would hirez streaming be susceptible to "capture" and ripping whether free or paid? If so then that may be a part of the reason the labels have been slow to support it. I hope someone technically knowledgeable can provide insight on that point. There is a similar issue with video I suppose; particularly if bandwidth permitted umcompressed video files to be streamed.

 

If you can dream it, then it can become a reality. There are plenty of ways to capture data over the wire; just ask the National Security Agency. I don't think I should divulge any information about this subject matter because it is probably going to get me banned and or in jail.

 

Especially if you turn and dump the hard copies back onto the open market.

 

I keep them. Pretty soon they'll be considered "vintage" and their value with skyrocket like LP's are.

 

I guarantee, that the value will not return more than the Vangaured S&P 500 index fund (Warren Buffett favorite). In fact I doubt it would return over the cost of inflation. I don't think LP's have skyrocketed, yeah, certain selections in a supply and demand environment, but overall, not.
Then there is the space factor of having to store the hard copy.
Naw, I'd sell them.

 

Qobuz 2015 plans:

But above all, you are our main reason for existing. To show our appreciated, we present to you our jam-packed plan for 2015:

• We will entirely redesign our website, to make it more consistent with the business model which we are increasingly adopting: a streaming service which also offers a downloading option.
• We will ensure that our developments are of the best standard for those with visual impairments.
• We will continue to improve our search tools.
• We will (finally) produce an application for Windows Phone. We have a few things in mind which we’re sure you’ll find exciting…
• We will offer downloading in DSD format, with an exclusive and partially new catalogue.
• We will finish our application system with an additional smattering of dedicated applications, offering your devices a complete and practical experience, including the exclusive content that we provide each day, at home or on the move.
• We will base your user account in the ‘internal Qobuz community’, being aware that our users have a deep musical knowledge and are eager to share their tastes – all of this in the strictest respect of their freedom and privacy.
• Finally, we will increase the number of our playlists, and make them easier to access and enjoy, both on the web and through the applications. We have been rather late developing this. The playlists have been an important part of our service, and we aim to become a true ‘playlist factory’, in order to help our users in their exploration of our extensive music catalogue. Our experts know how to surprise them.

 

I'm sure what did in Qobuzz originally was their failure among visually impaired Windows Phone users.

 

As someone who is visually impaired, I am seriously considering subscribing to Qobuz. However, what I'm curious to know from other people here in this topic is whether or not you would dump your CD's and box sets if you could no longer read the booklets and view the images.

 

No, I would not. Sorry to hear about your issue. I would still hold on to them.

 

I'd keep the physical discs. It's how we know what mastering we've got or which re-issue version.

Are you considering streaming music from Qobuz or are you just considering buying files from them? Do you rely on a screen reader? If you use a screen reader you'll need to make sure the Qobuz streaming layout works well with a screen reader so you can easily navigate what's available for streaming and pick what you want to play.

 

@Ham Sandwich

I used to have hundreds of CD's including a couple of DCC's, MFSL's, and many other discs based on recommendations in this forum particularly as I knew nothing about mastering years ago. The box sets I still own include the Jimi Hendrix purple box plus all the Daggers discs, Miles Davis various boxes, new SRV, The Doors cube box and the new Led Zepp discs having sold off the SHM box from Japan. That said, I do purchase new music.

Actually, I would continue to buy physical media and rip them to FLAC, BUT I havent' quite got my head around using Foobar. Fantastic player and great sound though.

I wrote to Qobuz last year regarding accessibility of the desktop app and enquired into which browser supported lossless streaming. So, I'm pleased to note here in this topic that the French music site is considering its visually impaired customers. However, I have yet to write back to them to ascertain what changes they are considering to implement. For instance, whether they will make the iOS app accessible or the desktop app and playback controls when streaming with Firefox.

Admittedly, I do like the ability to search for an artist or album and then simply click enter to stream the music. To answer your question though, I am able to play albums when streaming. It's just not possible for me to create playlists, select shuffle etc at this time as the icons are embedded in the website and therefore, not recognised by my JAWS (Job Application with Speech) screen reader. Also, I have no desire to purchase downloads.

Thanks for your replies and please bear with me as I slowly get used to accessing this site.

 

Not sure whether this is being discussed elsewhere, but news on the Qobuz front is that they've filed for bankruptcy yesterday. I'm not quite sure that's the right translation for "redressement judiciaire", but it means they have until November 16th to find a buyer, otherwise they'll just shut down.

I don't want to have to subscribe to Tidal, let alone return to Spotify...

http://blogsv2.qobuz.com/qobuz-blog...-situation-de-qobuz-a-nos-clients-et-abonnes/
http://www.francemusique.fr/actu-musicale/qobuz-place-en-redressement-judiciaire-112757