TuneCore partners with hi-res streaming platform Qobuz

The news comes on the heels of TuneCore parent company Believe’s IPO launch on the Euronext Paris stock exchange in France this week. Qobuz, which is also based in Paris, is a niche service that specialises in lossless and 24-bit hi-res quality streaming and downloads. Last year, the company raised $11m to fund its global expansion. Qobuz offers access to more than 70 million tracks in lossless audio quality, and TuneCore says the partnership reaffirms its commitment to expanding distribution for its roster of independent artists.

Qobuz was the first streaming service to ditch the MP3 format. When the company made the announcement in 2019, Music In Africa reported that the move could usher in improved standards across music platforms globally. Since then, major music streaming platforms Apple Music and Spotify, among others, have either launched or announced plans to add the lossless tier to their platform, with Apple offering the hi-res format for free.

“The partnership with Qobuz enables us to satisfy the growing appetite for lossless audio across all genres, while also unlocking a global audience of hi-res audio fans for our artists,” TuneCore co-head and chief revenue officer Andreea Gleeson said. “Audiophiles who appreciate hi-res sound will love Qobuz and its commitment to a high-quality music experience.”

Qobuz USA managing director Dan Mackta said: “The TuneCore catalogue spans from iconic artists to emerging upstarts and we are excited to welcome them all into our world. Music fans who demand the very best will be getting to hear much more great stuff now on Qobuz.”

The deal adds to TuneCore’s aggressive expansion strategy. Last week, the distribution service, alongside its parent company, struck a deal with YouTube to provide music for the latter company’s recently launched short-form video app, Shorts.

Believe is expected to begin trading on 10 June, and shares in TuneCore will be priced between €19.50 and €22.50. In May, Believe said the music distribution platform had paid out €364.9m (about $412m) to artists, which was generated from digital music and social media platforms in 2020. TuneCore has now paid more than $2bn to indie artists to date.

Meanwhile, YouTube yesterday said it had paid out $4bn to the music industry, including artists, songwriters and rightsholders, in the past 12 months.