Sony 360 Reality Audio to launch with four streaming services

Tech coloss Sony revealed more details about its 360 Reality Audio format, which was announced earlier this year.

From late autumn, there will be around 1,000 songs available in the format through four streaming partners: Amazon Music HD, Deezer, Tidal and Nugs·net. All three major labels are working with Sony to provide content, although the number of tracks at launch does pale in comparison to the overall streaming catalogue.

Moreover, sccording to the announcement, 360 Reality Audio “will require a paid subscription on all streaming services” - an example of hi-res audio being a paywalled feature to drive upgrades.

Among the partners in the inizitive there is also Live Nation, offering than 100 live tracks recorded at its venues.

Even if not mentioned in the list of four initial streaming partners, Napster is involved in 360 Reality Audio too. “Sony is also working with Napster to develop the solution of 360 Reality Audio streaming for further expansion of service providers” is how Sony described that partnership.

In a separate blog post, Napster confirmed that it will be offering the format “next year” rather than this autumn, alongside the other four. No word, until now, about the two biggest subscription services, Spotify and Apple Music, featuring the new audio format.