Apple Music is one of the best music streaming services. (opens in new tab) It has a strong catalog of tracks available in lossless and spatial audio. But despite the vast amount of spatial audio content accessible via curated playlists, it’s now possible for a listener to find out which tracks in his Apple Music library are available in immersive 3D audio versions. There is no easy way to know.
Fortunately, if you’re an Apple Music subscriber, you’ll automatically find which tracks and albums in your music library are also available with spatial audio, without having to spend hours searching through your favorite artist’s historical catalog. There is a way. Price is $3.99 / £3.99 (via iOS app store), but if you don’t want to pay, Follow the developer’s Twitter account (opens in new tab) Track new spatial audio releases.
music library tracker (opens in new tab) is a third-party app for iPhone and iPad developed to integrate with your Apple Music library to track content changes. Recent updates include monitoring spatial audio content, updating and generating dedicated playlists for songs that have been upgraded to spatial audio. Additionally, if you opt-in to notifications when you install the app on your device, you’ll be alerted when a track in your music library is upgraded to spatial audio.
What is Spatial Audio?
Spatial audio is a 360-degree sound format that reproduces the surround effect through a pair of speakers, such as headphones or small earbuds. When spatial audio first came out, it was seen as a format for enhanced video playback when using Apple’s flagship AirPods Pro earbuds and AirPods Max headphones, but now music also has spatial audio. Audio processing is applied.
Audio industry experts estimate that about 80% of new music tracks are emerging with spatial audio content versions.
Since Apple first introduced the idea of more immersive listening experiences and 3D soundscapes, there has been a growing number of products and services offering spatial audio with support for Dolby Atmos. Since the release of spatial audio in 2021, music tracks have been steadily designed to provide an enhanced stereo experience. Today, industry experts estimate that about 80% of new music tracks are emerging with spatial audio content versions.
Do you need spatial audio?
From Apple’s own headphones to the latest HomePod 2 (opens in new tab) Like smart speakers, the idea of spatial audio seems to find its way into all sorts of products, and is a fundamental part of the distinctive design behind the new Sonos Era 300 smart speaker. (opens in new tab)will be officially announced next month.
Whether you realize it or not, most of us listen to mono speakers at home, such as one of the best Bluetooth speakers. (opens in new tab) or best smart speaker (opens in new tab)Unless you’re splurging on one of the best music systems for style (opens in new tab)If you have a traditional stereo Hi-Fi setup, or a multi-channel home theater system, you’re probably listening to music in mono on a single speaker unit.
So it’s no surprise that spatial audio music is gaining popularity. Spatial audio processing has been applied to both old and new recordings and is appearing on streaming services such as Amazon Music Unlimited. (opens in new tab)Apple Music (opens in new tab)and the tide (opens in new tab)For music fans to experience their favorite music in spatial audio, studio engineers need to mix tracks to create immersive content.
Compatible headphones such as AirPods Max, AirPods Pro 2 are required to experience the full effect of spatial audio content. (opens in new tab)or Beats Fit Pro, or stereo speakers like the new Apple HomePod 2 (opens in new tab)However, as the format becomes more widely known, more products may emerge that fully support spatial audio.
In the meantime, if you’re an iOS user and Apple Music subscriber, the Music Library Tracker app is a great way to integrate your spatial audio content. Especially useful for understanding the spatial audio content you have in your own library, rather than relying on Apple Music’s playlist of Spatial Audio tracks, bringing you closer to his latest 3D immersive sounds of your favorite songs. Now you can experience it.
