qobuz.com
It seems as if there are new music streaming services popping up every other month. Or, more accurately, you hear about a music streaming app that you've never heard of before. They just keep compounding on top of one another, and the list keeps growing and growing with no signs of stopping or slowing. There's Spotify, Tidal, Google Play, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora, iHeart Radio ? the list goes on and on.
It seems as if streaming services are becoming increasingly popular. This is especially true given the recent successes of Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. These services have been able to capitalize on the consistent demand for music. In fact, music is one of the most consistently in-demand forms of art and entertainment. Although other industries may be struggling right now, there will always be a high demand for music.
There is something special about music that makes it one of the most popular forms of art. Perhaps it is this connection to the human spirit that makes people love going to concerts and listening to albums. Personally, I think we all relate to music in a way that movies and TV can't quite match.
We use music to help us live our lives. We work to it, we exercise to it, we mourn to it, we party to it, we dance to it, we make love to it, and we cook to it. It reminds us that we are not alone. It motivates us to keep moving through our hardships. There are a few moments, in fact, that are not made better by music. This is why finding the perfect music streaming service for our unique listening needs is so important.
It can be tough to decide on the best audio streaming service for your needs. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it's important to ask yourself some important questions before making a decision. For example, how do you prefer to listen to music? Some services cater to more traditional styles of listening, while others are more focused on contemporary music. Today we'll be comparing Qobuz against some of the other more well-known audio streaming services.
History
Qobuz (pronounced ?co-buzz?) is a streaming service that was founded in 2007 by Yves Riesel. It gradually expanded into across European borders and overseas. As of May 2019, Qobuz has been on trial in the United States.
Qobuz is more closely aligned, I would say, to Tidal than it is to Spotify. Its goal is to provide high-quality music streaming service and it puts sound quality above all else. If you are an audiophile, I think that you will find much to be excited by thanks to Qobuz. Plus, as a relatively young music streaming platform, there are many directions left for this scrappy streaming service to grow. Who knows where the road will lead Qobuz!
Design
If I had to summarize Qobuz's website design in one word, it would likely be "dynamic." The layout employs a simple, minimalist approach that does not feel any less modern than it should. Scrolling down the page, you find that the layout is beautifully simple (elegant even), but graphics and text bounce and jump out at you to catch your eye?in a tasteful way?just enough to be interactive without being cheesy or feeling sophomoric in any way.
I can only assume that the primary users of this site are musicians or audio engineers, as there is a great deal of information on the site about sound production and enhancing your listening experience.
Qobuz is clearly marketed towards professionals in the music industry. Not necessarily professionals who are in the music industry, although I'm sure that this site would satisfy even the pickiest audio engineer out there. But the images on the site, for instance, show mature individuals allowing themselves to be lost in soundscapes of lush music. I can only assume that the primary users of this site are musicians or audio engineers, as there is a great deal of information on the site about sound production and enhancing your listening experience.
The website flows smoothly and constantly downward, resulting in an immersive web experience that mirrors the listening experience. Qobuz is all about escape, allowing yourself to be immersed in the music. The website's design reflects this, I think.
Content
Qobuz is a great streaming app that beats out Spotify and YouTube Music in terms of the number of songs available. Additionally, Qobuz lets you either stream or purchase individual songs to be enjoyed offline, if you want.
Qobuz offers a variety of playlists, curated by experts, that include new releases and some older music. There are also playlists dedicated to music that is lesser known but still very talented. This makes for a unique and enjoyable listening experience.
Qobuz seems to want to become the vinyl equivalent of a digital streaming world. To do this, they have focused on content: they offer 40 million+ songs in studio streaming quality, as well as exclusive interviews with artists and digital booklets of albums. This helps satisfy the nostalgia itch for anyone who misses the delights of owning physical albums.
Desktop and Mobile Experience
The web browser player seems to be just as well-designed as the app itself when it comes to Qobuz. Regardless of where you are listening, you can be guaranteed a superb listening experience with expert sound quality, flawless streaming, and beautiful design.
Many other people feel the same way I do. The Apple App Store has an average rating of 4.7 stars (out of 5) after 2.6 thousand ratings, and Qobuz provides an excellent listening experience.
Pricing and Plans
This is where things start to go downhill, I'm afraid. As I said before, Qobuz seems to be marketed toward mature professionals, and the price seems to correspond with that target demographic. No matter which subscription tier you go for, it is going to cost you more than the competitor services. The prices do fluctuate quite frequently, but at the moment, these are the prices:
Studio Premier: A monthly subscription of $14.99 offers high-resolution streaming, offline listening, and exclusive content. The first month is free.
Sublime Plus: $24.99/month gets you everything that Premiere offers, plus discounts on purchases and exclusive deals. First month is free for this option.
Suggestions that I have for Qobuz
I think it would be a good idea for Qobuz to find a way to get the price points down so that more people can afford to use it. A $10/month subscription option would make a lot of people happy, or even offering a freemium model with ads and some limited features could entice more people to sign up. At this point, I don't know if many people are going to fork over $15 a month on the hope that Qobuz is the right streaming service for their needs.
If you are going to offer a tier that is $25 each month, you need to offer something more than discounted downloads. I mean, part of the point of downloading a music streaming app is so you don't have to download files to your computer or phone, right? The pricing tiers of Qobuz need to be reconsidered, I think.
Conclusion
All in all, I believe that Qobuz has a lot of potential and could one day become the best music streaming app on the market. It has excellent branding, great site and app design, superb and lossless studio sound quality, and a unique sort of edge to it that no other competitor app really comes close to catering to. However, Qobuz needs to figure out how to lower the price or offer more features for the same price.
If you're looking for a listening experience that comes as close to vinyl as possible in the digital age, Qobuz is the perfect choice.
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