But as smartphones grew more advanced, storage sizes grew and 4G and 5G mobile technology changed everything once again, we now listen to music on our phones, usually with the help of a music streaming service to access millions of songs by artists from around the world. Then MP3 players, especially the iPod, came along and changed everything, eliminating the need to carry around bulky devices and CDs.

With the rise of portable music players such as the Walkman in the 80s and then the Discman at the turn of the millennium, listening to music on the go has become the norm. There’s no doubt that the way we listen to music has changed drastically over the years. Qobuz also has an editorial aspect, with artist profiles, album reviews, news, interviews and more.įor example, to celebrate the Australian launch, there’s a feature on the history of Aussie Hip-Hop, profiling artists like Genesis Owusu, Hilltop Hoods, Seth Sentry and Unlimited Sound.Fact Checked Spotify hits the right notes in music streaming review for 3 rd year Though, there’s a little more to the service than just high-fidelity music streaming. For comparison, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Tidal all charge $11.99 per month for their basic plans, while Tidal charges $23.99 per month for its HiFi plan. Its high price tag is a clear indication that Qobuz is specifically targeting serious audiophiles with its service, rather than the general public that Spotify and Apple Music caters to. Qobuz has actually been around since 2007 but has slowly expanded to a number of countries over the years, including the US in 2019, and now Australia and New Zealand in 2021. Positioned as a high-fidelity competitor to Tidal, Qobuz promises an “unparalleled listening experience” and the ”purest sound quality,” available to stream and download in CD quality (or HiFi/HD) or high-resolution studio quality (24-bit, up to 192khz).

This is why I was surprised when I received a press release announcing just that, a brand new music streaming service in Australia, Qobuz. If you had asked me back in 2014 before Tidal launched I probably would have said the same thing.

If you had asked me yesterday, I would have said there was no more room for new music streaming services in Australia.

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