By NYA Staff
For years, the music streaming market has been dominated by a handful of giant platforms competing to become all-purpose entertainment hubs. Music, podcasts, audiobooks, videos, and advertising increasingly share the same space, often leaving the music itself feeling like just another piece of content. Many of them still deliver their music in low quality MP3 format.
Qobuz has taken a different approach. And that’s precisely why we recommend it.
The French streaming service, founded in 2007, has built a loyal following among audiophiles and serious music fans. While it remains tiny compared with Spotify’s hundreds of millions of subscribers or Apple Music’s massive user base, Qobuz has been growing rapidly as listeners look for an alternative focused on music rather than engagement metrics.
The most obvious advantage is sound quality. Qobuz specializes in lossless high-resolution audio, just as we do on NYA, allowing subscribers to hear recordings as close as possible to the original studio masters. The difference can be significant. Subtle instrumental textures, vocal nuances, and the natural decay of notes often become more apparent than on heavily compressed files. Yet audio quality is only part of the story.
The strongest argument for Qobuz is that it remains focused on music. There is no free ad-supported tier. There are no podcasts. There are no audiobooks competing for attention. Users open the app and find albums, artists, playlists, editorial recommendations, and music discovery tools.
Artist compensation is another area where Qobuz stands apart. Streaming economics remain controversial throughout the music industry, but independent evaluations consistently rank Qobuz among the highest-paying major streaming platforms. The company recently disclosed an independently verified average payout of approximately $18.73 per 1,000 streams. By comparison, estimates for Spotify generally range from about $3 to $5 per 1,000 streams.
While no streaming model adequately rewards artists, listeners who care about supporting musicians should welcome a platform that returns a larger share of revenue to the musicians.
Qobuz has also taken a public stand on artificial intelligence. As AI-generated tracks flood streaming services, the company has adopted policies aimed at identifying and removing fully AI-generated music while prohibiting the use of its catalog to train AI systems. For many artists concerned about the future of creative work, that commitment is noteworthy.
Also, instead of relying exclusively on algorithms for discovery, Qobuz combines recommendations with human editorial curation. Reviews, artist features, new release highlights, and partnerships with respected music organizations help recreate some of the experience of browsing a knowledgeable record store.
At a time when many technology companies seem determined to maximize attention at any cost, Qobuz has chosen a simpler mission: delivering great music in great quality while treating artists with greater respect. We think it’s the best music service for those like our NYA members who care most about music.