Universal Music to Remix Thousands of Songs Into Dolby Atmos

[4-earredwonder]

If this kind of strategy can pave the way for a surround renaissance I'm all for it... But the thought of having just a selection of hit songs in surround makes me very worried... How frustrating it is to listen to Peter Gabriel's Play, or The McCartney Years, not being able to listen to the entire albums and just getting a taste. It's a total tease for anyone who, like me, loves listening to the albums. Is there anyone who really loves music and only listens to hit songs? Anyone who loves music enough to want to listen to it in surround sound?

I do agree with you, admsh, but I think that studios are just playing it safe at this juncture to see how their concept of individual song releases in Atmos flies. I'm sure Giles Martin will probably remix Abbey Road into Atmos, a album which would surely sell in the thousands and other classics will follow....but this Atmos launch is a litmus test for millennials who like their hits and not have to commit to an album purchase containing songs they just don't want to hear.....like the MP3 approach whereby you buy what you REALLY WANT.

 

[sjcorne]

Furthermore, LOSSY DULLBY DIGITAL will be a thing of the past ..........so let's make room for the new DADDY ...... LOSSLESS DOLBY ATMOS ........and no more bitchin' from 4~ears about the demerits of LOSSY codecs!

I wouldn’t be so sure about that...they’ve already come out with a lossy object-based surround codec:

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/technologies/AC-4.html

 

[4-earredwonder]

I'm thinking to myself that in order for Universal/Dolby to pull off this massive feat, they'd have to locate the multitracks for literally thousands of individual songs from dozens of labels some of which obviously have lost those multis either through neglect, fire or mislabeling which, IMO, would thus constitute a lot of UPMIXES. And will the label be forthcoming if the tracks are indeed upmixes and not the real deal? Hmmmmm!

 

[4-earredwonder]

I wouldn’t be so sure about that...they’ve already come out with a lossy object-based surround codec:

https://www.dolby.com/us/en/technologies/AC-4.html

Jonathan, whatever happened to the adage: "Let Sleeping Dogs lie?" But I suppose with broadcast where bandwidth is a concern, lossy is all they can reasonably accomodate.

I was referring to Box sets or new surround releases which still support DD or DTS 5.1 in lieu of lossless codecs.

 

[sjcorne]

If this kind of strategy can pave the way for a surround renaissance I'm all for it... But the thought of having just a selection of hit songs in surround makes me very worried... How frustrating it is to listen to Peter Gabriel's Play, or The McCartney Years, not being able to listen to the entire albums and just getting a taste. It's a total tease for anyone who, like me, loves listening to the albums. Is there anyone who really loves music and only listens to hit songs? Anyone who loves music enough to want to listen to it in surround sound?

I feel the same way. Something I've noticed time and time again is that a good surround mix can turn previously forgettable or under-appreciated tracks into highlights.

 

[HomerJAU]

Very happy to finally see something about the release of Dolby Atmos music. Let’s hope the cost of individual songs won’t be ‘Atmosronomical’. (Apologies for the pun I had a big night out with my mates - but my point is I hope these tracks will be affordable)

I hope entire hit albums will one day appear in Atmos. Phil Collins anyone?

BTW: My experimentation with 7.1 played on 5.1 systems showed my 5.1 system reproduces everything in the 7.1 file. Edit: Channel sound but not spacial positioning

 

[markshan]

I'm thinking to myself that in order for Universal/Dolby to pull off this massive feat, they'd have to locate the multitracks for literally thousands of individual songs from dozens of labels some of which obviously have lost those multis either through neglect, fire or mislabeling which, IMO, would thus constitute a lot of UPMIXES. And will the label be forthcoming if the tracks are indeed upmixes and not the real deal? Hmmmmm!

Universal owns dozens of labels. There are literally like three majors left.

 

[markshan]

Hasn't everyone been saying that the labels need an economic incentive to spend the time/money to remix material? Now Dolby gives it to them and everyone here seems to think it is a bad thing. I don't get it. At all.

 

[4-earredwonder]

Universal owns dozens of labels. There are literally like three majors left.

That was my point.......a lot of the multis ARE missing in action .......unlike Sony and Warners, a number of masters owned by the smaller record companies were improperly maintained......some LOST FOREVER!

 

[HomerJAU]

Universal owns dozens of labels. There are literally like three majors left.

One of those articles mentioned Dolby in negotiations with others to do same as Universal.

 

[4-earredwonder]

One of those articles mentioned Dolby in negotiations with others to do same as Universal.

The 'impending' nightmare of course is artist participation as well. Will they want to participate in the remixing process or nix attempts at 'messing' with their material.....like Van the Man famously did when Warners released MOONDANCE?

 

[Jeffrey Michael]

That was my point.......a lot of the multis ARE missing in action .......unlike Sony and Warners, a number of masters owned by the smaller record companies were improperly maintained......some LOST FOREVER!

Probably. Like, 2% of all the music out there?

 

[bmoura]

From Pro Sound News:

Los Angeles, CA (May 24, 2019)—Dolby Laboratories and Universal Music Group (UMG) have announced that they are working together to create and transform thousands of songs in Dolby Atmos from a diverse list of artists across multiple genres.

Dolby Atmos capabilities are integrated at UMG studios including Capitol Records Studios in Hollywood, Abbey Road Studios in London and Berry Hill Studios in Nashville. UMG labels around the world are reportedly all working on creating immersive music content in Dolby Atmos.

“This is a completely new way to create and experience music, freeing artists to be more expressive and experimental with their recordings,” said Todd Pendleton, chief marketing officer and senior vice president, Dolby Laboratories. “Dolby Atmos Music envelops the listener, bringing you inside the music and creating a visceral ‘wow.’”

Executives from Dolby Labs and UMG demonstrated old songs remixed for Dolby Atmos as well as new material custom-created for the immersive format in an event at Capitol Studios just ahead of the official announcement. As reported in USA Today and Billboard, tracks played back in Capitol’s Studio C included Marvin Gaye’s 1971 classic "What's Going On," R.E.M.’s “Drive” and songs by Wu-Tang Clan, Public Enemy and Snoh Aalegra.

Billboard notes that the roll-out at Capitol was just the latest in a string of Dolby Atmos Music demonstrations that have included an after-party at last year’s Oscars and a Wu-Tang Clan interactive exhibition at Dolby SoHo in New York City.

https://www.prosoundnetwork.com/recording/umg-to-remix-thousands-of-songs-in-atmos

 

[HomerJAU]

I’m surprised there isn’t more excitement about this pre-announcement. Thousands of songs coming in surround, new mixes too!!

There’s going to be LOTS of new surround music coming, hopefully there will be enough new artists and songs to make this an ongoing success.

I get the feeling this will be delivered as a downloadable format, hopefully it will play on all existing media players and streaming type devices. If it’s locked to specific devices or App style software players it will kill this quickly. It needs to be able to be played on Oppos, Sonys etc BD players and streaming devices etc in a file format that already exists and anyone can playback without new equipment/devices.

I guess we’ll know more fairly soon.

Being a very slow surround title year (so far) I’ve got a war chest ready to jump in as an early adopter (again)...

 

[bmoura]

There’s going to be LOTS of new surround music coming, hopefully there will be enough new artists and songs to make this an ongoing success.

I wouldn't get too carried away with announcements like this one.

Remember that the purpose of such agreements (much as we saw with similar deals in the early days of Quad, DTS and other formats) is to provide enough material to encourage consumers to buy new audio equipment with the new format.
In this case AV receivers and other audio gear with built-in Dolby Atmos circuits which generates licensing revenue for Dolby Labs.

After the initial number of releases in the agreement are completed, then it is a question of whether the market justifies further releases based on sales - not $ from the new format inventor(s).
That is when everyone will know whether the new format lives on - or not.

 

[salsdali]

I think this is a brillant move by Dolby and I'm overjoyed.

I really don't understand the negative posts at all.

and "Mama said knock you out" is a kick ass song, so there

At a demo in the historic Capitol Records studio here, Dolby and Universal executives showcased the system, beginning by playing the classic song "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, over 16 speakers. The sound was distributed into several of the speakers, with the street chatter that opens the song appearing in front and the conga players in the back of the room.

 

[marpow]

I'll pipe in just this one time as I am not really excited about it for a few reasons but also think of course is good for surround enthusiasts and wouldn't it be great if it did catch on, I mean that would be the goal, right?
I have a 5.1 system and am very happy with it, I do believe a different room, with more speakers would be great, will I do it, probably not.
Now that I have a fairly large collection, getting older, etc, I am becoming reluctant to purchase anything that is a reissue of music from the past, at some point I have to teach myself to be happy with what I have. Who knows how these so called new titles will be mixed, mastered, compressed, etc just to hear on forums who like and who don't.
I guess the big question for me would be how many new titles, never released in any surround would be available.
Also, on a personal note, I love listening to surround but to do it justice it takes a tremendous amount of sitting and I am reluctant to sit more than a couple hours as it tears up my body, stereo I have no problem waking away to another room while continuing to listen and enjoy.
Surround also requires me to be fully engaged and sometimes I find myself listening very intently which I find has the opposite of relaxing.
More speakers, more critical listening, the same old songs, ugh!

 

[andi-999]

That's really great news! I just finished my 'speaker and receiver enhancement project' this week - what a coincidence , I upgraded also from 5.1 to 5.1.2! Had only listened to R.E.M. "Automatic for the people" in Dolby Atmos yet but that was really WOW. I did not expect that it would make such a great difference compared to 5.1!

On a sidenote: I tried before Dolby-enabled upfiring speakers but I can tell you now: don't do this, it's a waste of time and money. Ceiling speakers are the real thing for Atmos.

 

[proufo]

I think this is a brillant move by Dolby and I'm overjoyed.

"By Dolby". Interesting. Dolby could be footing the bill for the upmixes, using a proprietary algorithm more advanced than the one included in their consumer technology.

 

[The56Kid]

But to paraphrase Clint ....... unless remix engineers with Steve Wilson, Elliot Scheiner, Bob Clearmountain, etc. 'credentials,' are at the helm, in the hands of lesser remix engineers [and there are plenty of them], the task of remixing literally thousands of songs into Dolby Atmos might be cringe~worthy, at best.

If Wilson, Scheiner, nor Clearmountain are available I suggest they contact our own Sean/skherbeck to do the mixes.