Amazon Music turns on free spatial audio

As promised Amazon Music has added spatial audio at no extra cost for Unlimited subscribers on iOS and Android with existing headphones and on select Alexa Cast devices.

Amazon Music Unlimited users also have access to a catalog of songs mixed in Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio. That catalog has grown 20X since spatial audio was originally introduced on Amazon Music.

“We’ve always believed that the highest-quality audio possible should be the norm for streaming music, and that’s why today, we’re making spatial audio available to our customers without any special equipment needed, and no upgrade required,” said Steve Boom, VP of Amazon Music. “We can’t wait for even more fans around the world to be able to hear the vibrancy and nuance of music in spatial audio with just their favourite headphones, and discover new details in the albums they love for the very first time.” 

Amazon Music subscribers can hear new albums in spatial audio, including Remi Wolf’s debut album Juno, FINNEAS’ recently released album Optimist, and Rüfüs Du Sol’s fourth album Surrender, out this Friday.

Starting today, fans can also hear Alicia Keys’ full catalog in 360 Reality Audio, including classic albums like Songs in A Minor and Girl on Fire.

New Imagine Dragons in Dolby Atmos coming

In November, Amazon Music will exclusively release Mercury – Act 1 (Amazon  Music Live), a new EP from Imagine Dragons, mixed in Dolby Atmos. The five-track EP features music from the band’s album release live stream, which was recorded from the rooftop of the Amazon Music office in Brooklyn.

“We recorded our new album Mercury – Act I with Rick Rubin at Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, and it’s great to have a new avenue for people to experience the space and depth in those rooms through these new Dolby Atmos mixes,” said Imagine Dragons. “We’re excited to share our first acoustic live EP of some of these tracks, that we recorded with Amazon Music.”

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.