5.1 surround digital streaming platform... "spotify" like

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300 Club - QQ All-Star
Joined
Dec 25, 2015
Messages
356
Dear people of the four corners of the sound system, ^_^

Has anyone ever heard of, or contemplated the idea of creating an online streaming platform, or even digital radio, dedicated to surround music?

"Get with the program..."

Don't know if you've noticed, but these days people rely less and less on purchasing music, either in the form of physical media, or even digital media... I've heard on the radio not long ago, that the new way of "making your big break" in the music industry was to find a way to make it on a pre-assembled playlist that people can just "click on and enjoy", and go on with their busy lives (typidy type type type on ma sellfone ;)). Don't take this last bit personal if you're one of them.. :D

I think most here are in a similar stance as I am, and would like surround music to reach a broader audience. I, for one, would like to hear even more genres and many more recent artists turn to the 5.1 format, and I think this could be a way, if not THE way to make this happen. And I was thinking with all the knowledge and passion found here, a lot of playlists could be created to get newbies to the format acquainted with the best mixes and music already available in surround.

Also, I recently found a way to upmix music that, to my ear, beats anything I've heard before out there, sound quality taken account for (ok, I haven't heard much... the Surround Master sure sounds like it's good for that), and I was wondering if there'd be a way to share the results with everyone out there who'd be interested, legally. Hence a streaming platform. Being a film score fan, and also a big fan of artists like Lady Gaga, P!nk, MisterWives, Coeur de Pirate, etc.., these new 5.1 versions I made could reach a whole new branch of listeners. btw, anyone here who's always dreamed of hearing this or that song in surround is welcomed to throw it at me for testing. Perhaps it's not the most discrete surround available, I must admit I focused on the soundtracks I have and when I threw pop music at it it sounded great as well, but when you don't have anything else, and that keeping pristine sound quality matters...

If anyone wonders, it's one setting, so far. A bit like Pro Logic would do: I somehow use the same principles. It's all done in Cubase, but if there'd be a way to turn this into a DSP for Foobar2000 for example, I think it could make a lot of people happy.

Any ideas most welcomed, even if it's to tell me I'm dreaming of an unattainable utopia. ;)

Cheers!

Cristale
 
Dear people of the four corners of the sound system, ^_^

Has anyone ever heard of, or contemplated the idea of creating an online streaming platform, or even digital radio, dedicated to surround music?

"Get with the program..."

Don't know if you've noticed, but these days people rely less and less on purchasing music, either in the form of physical media, or even digital media... I've heard on the radio not long ago, that the new way of "making your big break" in the music industry was to find a way to make it on a pre-assembled playlist that people can just "click on and enjoy", and go on with their busy lives (typidy type type type on ma sellfone ;)). Don't take this last bit personal if you're one of them.. :D

I think most here are in a similar stance as I am, and would like surround music to reach a broader audience. I, for one, would like to hear even more genres and many more recent artists turn to the 5.1 format, and I think this could be a way, if not THE way to make this happen. And I was thinking with all the knowledge and passion found here, a lot of playlists could be created to get newbies to the format acquainted with the best mixes and music already available in surround.

Also, I recently found a way to upmix music that, to my ear, beats anything I've heard before out there, sound quality taken account for (ok, I haven't heard much... the Surround Master sure sounds like it's good for that), and I was wondering if there'd be a way to share the results with everyone out there who'd be interested, legally. Hence a streaming platform. Being a film score fan, and also a big fan of artists like Lady Gaga, P!nk, MisterWives, Coeur de Pirate, etc.., these new 5.1 versions I made could reach a whole new branch of listeners. btw, anyone here who's always dreamed of hearing this or that song in surround is welcomed to throw it at me for testing. Perhaps it's not the most discrete surround available, I must admit I focused on the soundtracks I have and when I threw pop music at it it sounded great as well, but when you don't have anything else, and that keeping pristine sound quality matters...

If anyone wonders, it's one setting, so far. A bit like Pro Logic would do: I somehow use the same principles. It's all done in Cubase, but if there'd be a way to turn this into a DSP for Foobar2000 for example, I think it could make a lot of people happy.

Any ideas most welcomed, even if it's to tell me I'm dreaming of an unattainable utopia. ;)

Cheers!

Cristale
I just loved your idea and concept...... until you started taking "upmixes" and fake surround. Isn't there enough good real surround music recorded in the world to do it right and skip the fake stuff?

After 40 years, can we please have the real frickin' thing now already?
 
I just loved your idea and concept...... until you started taking "upmixes" and fake surround. Isn't there enough good real surround music recorded in the world to do it right and skip the fake stuff?

After 40 years, can we please have the real frickin' thing now already?

This will be utopia!
Not enough interested people for that and not enough 5.1 systems in their places.
Surround music will ever be a very special kind of listening to music.

I'm very happy that it is still alive and am thankful for every release. :)
 
I've wondered for a while now why there isn't a FLAC based streaming service for even HD stereo. It would be limited to areas with a high speed connection obviously but there are many opportunities nowadays. If that existed it would be a hop and a skip to stream multichannel FLAC.

I'd prefer to have it restricted to only actual discreet surround too (no upmixes). Or let's say that only after this is established that anyone considers adding a channel for upmixes.
 
I just loved your idea and concept...... until you started taking "upmixes" and fake surround. Isn't there enough good real surround music recorded in the world to do it right and skip the fake stuff?

After 40 years, can we please have the real frickin' thing now already?

Believe me, I understand your point... I probably should've made two different topics. But the thing is, younger generations aren't interested in most of what is available in surround, as of now. Heck, I'm forty years old, and besides Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson, Björk, and The Flaming Lips, there isn't much to my taste out there. That why I'm upmixing my film scores... 96 so far. Plus, there's so much new music that would sound absolutely insane in surround, but to get all these artists to "cross over", I kinda have a feeling that upmixing their music for streaming next to grade A mixes could tickle some of them just enough to put the time to do it themselves...

A dedicated chanel (chanel... perfume, now!), "channel" for upmixes sure sounds like a greast idea, though.. Cause I'm getting sick and tired of listening to the same 20-30 music albums, and there isn't much more already released I'd care about. Sad to say, but taste in general can differ so much from a person to another, and my "heroes" don't do surround. Well.. not "true" surround: even Hollywood blockbusters keep most of the music in the L-R channels...
 
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This will be utopia!
Not enough interested people for that and not enough 5.1 systems in their places.
Surround music will ever be a very special kind of listening to music.

I'm very happy that it is still alive and am thankful for every release. :)

Probably... but one can dream, right? :)

I'm also thankful... But being thankful doesn't often get things to move forward. Dunno... Perhaps I'm waaayy off.
 
I've wondered for a while now why there isn't a FLAC based streaming service for even HD stereo. It would be limited to areas with a high speed connection obviously but there are many opportunities nowadays. If that existed it would be a hop and a skip to stream multichannel FLAC.

I'd prefer to have it restricted to only actual discreet surround too (no upmixes). Or let's say that only after this is established that anyone considers adding a channel for upmixes.

It is a pity that lossless music isn't available for streaming... though I must admit for the most part Spotify does the trick for me, they have a HQ option available, but I can't say I made much critical listening on there.

Sure, I'm all for discreet surround... but as I just replied above, there isn't much for me... And I know someone could tell me to "widen my horizon".. But I'm not sure anyone on here listens to as many different and varied genres as I do: But I know what I like and what I don't like, and I'm very hard to please. But, perhaps you're right about the upmixes and I should keep them for myself.
 
Qobuz does stereo HD flac streaming, Tidal too I believe. I had a subscription to Qobuz for a while, but did not renew.

Thanks, Robert! I didn't now that... Will have to check these guys out one day. (y)


**update: Qobuz isn't available in Canada. There's still Tidal..
 
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Anyway... I know to get a thing like that going, a digital streaming service dedicated to surround music, would need a lot of thinking through and work to build from the ground up, but if one could make an already estblished "player" start a new branch for this especially, perhaps it wouldn't be so hard to do.

Like I said... I'm probably daydreaming, but still. It's a nice dream..:smokin
 
It is a pity that lossless music isn't available for streaming... though I must admit for the most part Spotify does the trick for me, they have a HQ option available, but I can't say I made much critical listening on there.

Sure, I'm all for discreet surround... but as I just replied above, there isn't much for me... And I know someone could tell me to "widen my horizon".. But I'm not sure anyone on here listens to as many different and varied genres as I do: But I know what I like and what I don't like, and I'm very hard to please. But, perhaps you're right about the upmixes and I should keep them for myself.

Hey, at least you're trying! I say, let em rip. :) So to speak...
 
Hey, at least you're trying! I say, let em rip. :) So to speak...

Better get back to music composition, then.. ^_^

Meds workin' just right... HRT starting within a week or two...

Back to the bat cave!

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Cheers!

(if anyone knows anyone, that knows someone who'd be a sugar daddy who could finance something like this...) :banana:
 
I understand. I'm 38 and I wish there were more modern artists releasing surround mixes. I'm not very interested in upmixes. I'm mixing as much as I can in 5.1, and I hope to convince bigger modern artists to do the same, or let me do it for them. Jan started SurroundOne, which I believe is similar...streaming and selling MCH: https://surroundmusic.one/ . I also regularly send emails to bandcamp and sometimes it seems like they understand that there is a market for 5.1, small as it may be. All they need to do is allow two masters for a release and they could sell it. I like your idea!
 
I've wondered for a while now why there isn't a FLAC based streaming service for even HD stereo.

The BBC is streaming FLAC Stereo over the Internet. And PrimeSeat has been streaming DSD Stereo and FLAC over the Internet since 2015.
So there are some streaming options available today in HD Stereo. Just not from Tidal and Spotify. :)
 
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