not very optimistic for Qobuz and Tidal…Hopefully I am wrong
Tidal will be fine, Square bought a stake in them to mine their service for the creation of a new royalty payment service.
Qobuz is the most at risk. I’ve been looking through their albums recently and most have higher res copies on Apple Music…
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I think that one way they may be less at risk is because they’ve been less ambitious than Tidal and spent less chasing subscribers. Interviews I’d read in the past suggested that they were satisfied with as a niche player and that might be what saves them. I hope that someone other than Apple/Spotify survives as that’ll be me done with streaming and Roon in bother. A Roon/Apple integration doesn’t feel that likely…
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Purchase discounts
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This is a good point, they have frequently commented this but to me it sounded nervous. Even if this is true, their team is so small every month, other streaming services put more distance between them.
Can’t argue with this, doesn’t change their overall profitability or growth though.
ABX tests are absolutely legit and are used in many industries including food & beverage and pharmaceutical. Have a go sometime to find out what you can really hear:
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I’d not argue with that assessment, a bit like the scout master who loves food that’s been dropped in the fire 
.
I have three:
- general antipathy towards Apple and technology as a “cult” (though Linux can feel quite culty);
- I’m not locked into Apple’s walled garden and don’t have to purchase Apple kit to get the best out of the services; and
- discounts on hi-res purchases on Qobuz, but I feel a little uncomfortable at the price on occasion and purchase on Bandcamp instead.
I’m just more comfortable with Qobuz I guess. Just as well we have choice, let’s hope it stays that way 
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yes, tried that.got 40% or so 
less than equal distribution. but the idea is wrong for hires music imo
That must mean you prefer lossless! 
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that was a reason too for qobuz.support them 
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although not hearing it
These are for sure the main reasons. I considered the sublime subscription too but I’ve found bandcamp are way cheaper.
As for walled garden, Apple Music to me is the only app they have that offers more benefits to people outside iOS than in (cross feed, swipe to queue and speed).
The cult is real though, no doubt there 
Funnily enough I say this as a Qobuz subscriber, I got my dad setup with roon as a present and its nice to be on the same service so we can share music.
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Wait till the airpod lossless 2 earpods come out!
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Can’t wait. Day one buy here.
BTW - Nice name, Jimmytwotimes. Tell Frankie Carbone and Mo Black’s brother Fat Andy I said hi! LOL
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They hired a new DJ
Maybe more the quest to offer better music for elevators
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When I read this I hoped it was like the deezer labs feature, a DJ/ radio anchor that comments on your tracks and announces next up tracks etc 
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Music aficionados come in many different stripes. Clearly, this acquisition will be greeted with horror by audiophiles for whom a bit perfect stream is sacrosanct (no messing with the source!). But this acquisition is not meant for audiophiles, but for those who would like to listen to their music in sync with their varying daily activities. To each their own.
More interesting to me is the (probably) imminent launch of Apple Classical. This might put some pressure on Roon, should Apple get the new classical app right (that’s a big if of course), as subscriptions to Qobuz and Tidal may well come to look like a pretty bad deal for those of us who listen to classical music.
(Like many on this forum, I’ve notified Apple of my strong desire to see Roon integration. Doubt it will ever happen, but at least I’ve done what I can.)
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My guess is the acquisition of AI Music isn’t for their Apple Music service but a possible feature in the future for GarageBand, their application for making music.
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