Billy Steele / Engadget
You can also listen to 360 Reality Audio on the headphones, as long as you have the right streaming service on your phone. Sony plans to license to other companies its customization technology for headphones, which analyzes a user’s ears and hearing. It will also license technology that allows 360 Reality Audio to be played from phones and inside cars. There’s no timeline for one yet, but it’s clear that Sony hopes to get its enthralling sound in more places soon.
Currently, if you want to listen to 360 Reality Audio music at home, you need a speaker like Amazon’s Echo Studio. You also need a subscription for the high quality of a service like Amazon Music, Tidal or Deezer. Sony will debut the platform in the fall of 2019, but only for headphones. At the time, there were only 1,000 tracks available – mostly from Sony Music artists. The company said it has expanded the number to 4,000, but it is still a small choice. Spotify has more than 50 million songs by comparison.
To expand its content library, Sony will start offering live performances with 360 Reality Audio audio. It begins with a live concert by Zara Larsson on Monday, January 11 at 5:00 PM ET via the Artist Connection app. Of course, the company promises a ‘lifelike music experience’, or something that sounds like you’re there. Sony says it hopes to offer the option to the public as concert halls are still closed due to COVID-19. The company is working with labels and services later this year to stream ‘new video content’.
Sony
To have more content, you need to give creators, musicians, and producers the tools to make 360 Reality Audio good. Sony has partnered with Virtual Sonics to build software called the 360 Reality Audio Creative Suite. The goal is to facilitate the creation of content for the platform via this plug-in software that is compatible with ‘popular’ digital audio workstations (DAW). Through Audio Futures subsidiary, Virtual Sonics will release the 360 Reality Audio software later this month. Sony is also working with Music.com and The Orchard on a creative program that will provide access to the Creative Suite and stream 360 Reality content thereafter.
I’ve been skeptical about 360 Reality Audio since its launch. From the jump, it looked like Sony was facing an uphill climb with building a content library and convincing the public that new hardware was worth it. Two years later, the company finally seems to have a clear plan – to send its own speakers and expand its listening options. The only question now is how long it will take Sony to make it all happen.