Warner Music Group and MQA Enter Long-Term Licensing Deal

Warner Music Group and MQA Enter Long-Term Licensing Deal

HI-RES AUDIO

It was announced last week that Warner Music Group has agreed a long-term licensing deal with music technology specialists MQA. The agreement – the first between MQA and any major music company – will significantly increase music fans’ access to hi-resolution music globally. The agreement paves the way for recordings from WMG’s diverse roster of acclaimed artists and its world-renowned catalogue to be made available in studio master quality through MQA distributors.

Over the past year, we’ve listened to some of our favourite music in MQA, we have heard consumers’ glowing reactions to the experience and as an industry, we’ve started to make the case that quality doesn’t need to suffer for convenience. For these reasons, we are thrilled to share the news of this fantastic achievement for MQA and Warner Music. 

MQA is a revolutionary technology, which delivers master quality audio in a file small enough to stream or download.  By delivering the sound of the studio masters from WMG’s iconic labels, MQA will enable the listener to step into the magic of the artists’ original performances. MQA music is currently available via High Res Audio, onkyomusic, e-Onkyo, 7digital, 2L and Technics Tracks. Over the coming months, MQA will expand to more streaming platforms and into download stores worldwide.

Bob Stuart, Creator of MQA, commented: “This collaboration is a giant step forward for MQA and music fans everywhere. We have been working tirelessly to ensure labels, studios, artists, services and playback partners understand the potential of our technology and the responses have been overwhelming. MQA is about bringing the most authentic sound to music lovers all over the world and WMG is our first major partner to help drive this mission forward.”

Craig Kallman, Chairman & CEO of WMG’s Atlantic Records division, noted: “The digital music era has been all about convenience.  It is fantastic that we can listen to virtually any song, anywhere, any time.  In that process, however, convenience has trumped sound quality, and we have gotten further away from the sound that artists work so hard to create. MQA makes hi-resolution music easy to stream or download to any device. Music fans will love it when they hear it, and WMG is thrilled to be partnering with MQA to take the next step in bringing hi-resolution music to consumers across the globe.”

7digital became the first B2B platform provider to offer MQA earlier this year through our own site and onkyomusic. We have been working with the creators of MQA from early stages of the technology and we remain the only B2B provider capable of offering MQA.  

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