Apple has been all-in on spatial audio ever since it decided to add the wider form of sound to music back in 2021, and since then, we’ve seen Dolby Atmos soundtracks make their way out to other forms of music. It’s in DJ mixes and jazz and classical, and while other platforms haven’t entirely jumped on the same bandwagon, we have seen some movement (360 Reality Audio, anyone?).
It’s probably not difficult to see that Apple is doing the most in terms of spatial and music services, and its latest effort really shows that in spades, with the technology maker opening a performance hall specifically for spatial recordings.
It’s called “Apple Music Hall”, and it’s a performance space set up to capture artists in spatial in a big way.
Built to let 600 people watch an intimate performance, the stage is actually a production facility with recording and mixing studios, 16 cameras, with a design that sees broadcast cameras mixed in with iPhone cameras, all of which capture the action.
At the audience level, a good 48 spatial speakers are positioned around the audience, relaying the sound in a more spatially aware way, effectively making a performance feel immersive at the venue, and then later on be transmitted and conveyed that way on the Apple Music platform.
Yes, it’s a real place, and Apple Music is clearly the goal for Apple Music Hall, with livestreams supported and spatial recordings complete with multiple camera angles ready at the end. No doubt, it’s a move that will bolster the content found on Apple Music, and one that will see more uses of the spatial audio tech Apple already makes, including the AirPods Max 2, recently launched AirPods 5, and Apple’s spatial-focused HomePod speakers.
Pretty much everything Apple makes includes support for spatial audio in some form or another, and that includes the tech from Beats.
Already in the first few days, the line-up of artists playing (and recording) at Apple Music Hall has included Elton John, and with the likes of Troye Sivan and Charli XCX on the way, you can more or less get a feeling for what’s coming to Apple Music’s live sets in the coming months.
