HIgh-fidelity subscription music streaming service Qobuz has announced it’s launching a music streaming service in Japan.
The streaming service will join with Qobuz’s existing hi-res music download service in the country to offer a “first of its kind” music streaming and download platform.
The “first-of-its-kind” superlative likely refers to the combination of streaming and downloads, as this isn’t the first high-def streaming service to hit the Japanese market. Amazon Music offers its HD service in the country, and Sony Music Entertainment Japan ran a high-def music streaming service called mora qualitas, until the service shut down in 2022.
Japan’s music consumption market is somewhat unusual, in that streaming has made relatively little headway, while physical music continues to sell well. Qobuz sees an opportunity in this.
“While streaming dominates the global music market with over 67% of revenue, Japan presents a unique landscape where the physical market still accounts for over 50% of sales,” the France-headquartered company said in a statement on Thursday (October 24).
“Paid streaming, while lagging behind with less than 30% market share (compared with over 50% in other major markets), is showing remarkable growth in a country where the offering remains limited and dominated by a few major players….
“Japanese music lovers, known for their high standards when it comes to sound quality, are an ideal audience for Qobuz’s high-quality offering.”
Qobuz launched as a digital music store in 2007 and was acquired by Xandrie SA in 2015. Its high-resolution streaming service has expanded to 26 countries, including the UK and Germany in 2014 and the US in 2019.
Its expansion into new markets accelerated after an $11 million funding round in 2020.
“Japanese music lovers, known for their high standards when it comes to sound quality, are an ideal audience for Qobuz’s high-quality offering.”
Qobuz
The service made its first foray into the Japanese market in 2021, when it bought e-onkyo, a digital music downloads store that had been run by electronics manufacturer Onkyo Corporation.
The expansion into streaming in Japan “marks a major turning point, bringing us closer to our goal of profitability. We are proud to offer Japanese music lovers a valuable musical experience combining exceptional sound quality, editorial richness, and musical discovery,” Qobuz Deputy CEO Georges Fornay said.
“This expansion into the world’s second-largest music market, where streaming is booming, comes at an ideal time and strengthens our position as the undisputed benchmark for high-quality streaming and downloading.”
Qobuz offers “uncompressed, uncompromised” audio quality ranging from 16-bit (CD quality) to 24-bit/up to 192 kHz, and now DXD and DSD.
“This expansion into the world’s second-largest music market, where streaming is booming, comes at an ideal time and strengthens our position as the undisputed benchmark for high-quality streaming and downloading.”
Georges Fornay, Qobuz
One major advantage for high-res music streaming services like Qobuz is that the dominant music streamer, Spotify, has yet to enter the high-fidelity audio space.
However, that may soon change, as it’s widely expected that Spotify’s upcoming “Super-Premium” tier will include high-res audio, although this has yet to be officially confirmed.
During an earnings call in July, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said the service’s subscribers can expect “a lot higher quality across the board” on the new subscription tier.Music Business Worldwide