With its music focus, no-AI content policy, and larger artist royalties, the hi-res streaming service is scooping up all sorts of switchers.
after its US launch in 2019, he tapped up a friend—the manager of the Flaming Lips. It was mid-pandemic levels of tricky.
“I flew to Oklahoma to shoot with Wayne Coyne,” Mackta says. “He shows up wearing one of those helmets, with the ventilation system to protect you, a metallic puffer jacket and big silver moon boots. ” They couldn’t hear a word Coyne said in the helmet, so the frontman went home and shot theafter “How do you say it? ” are likely “Can I transfer my music library across?
” and “Does it have everything? ” The answers: yes andI'm not alone, according to Mackta, who landed at Qobuz after years at major and indie record labels—2025 was a banner year for the 19-year-old company. Twelve months ago, Qobuz had around 500,000 subscribers. The French streamer had grown steadily since 2007, targeting “people who already knew what, featuring interviews with former employees and artists calling for fairer industry economics.
As Mackta puts it, “This is not a music company; music was just a means to an end. ” It renewed the scuttlebutt amongst artists about low payouts, and Qobuz’s daily US trial numbers started to pick up. In mid-October, free-tier users started posting the ICE recruitment ads they saw on Spotify, which went viral on TikTok and Instagram Reels.
“The day that story broke was our biggest day ever in the US,” Mackta says. Qobuz saw another spike in numbers, plateauing until Spotify’s own marketing convinced more people to switch in early December.
“The second best day wasQobuz now has 1.2 million active monthly users, and its streaming revenue shot up 45.7 percent in 2025, compared to 8.8 percent growth in overall paid music streaming. Around a third of its revenue now comes from the US, its biggest market. Those are still teeny numbers next to and Apple Music .
“For us to say we're gonna compete with Apple or Amazon,” Mackta says, “we might as well say we're trying to launch a rocket. ” Qobuz’s goal is to reach 1 percent of the paid streaming market; under its French CEO Denis Thébaud, it expects to reach profitability by March 2027.
For years, Qobuz had popped up in posts by artists bemoaning being paid “a quarter of a cent per stream” on big platforms versus “a much higher number” on Qobuz. Wading into digital payment structures to labels and rights holders can get murky, with low transparency, vague payout ranges and, same as it ever was, conflicts between labels and artists. But in multipleAn average per-stream rate is an artificial metric, which doesn’t reflect how everyone gets paid.
But in March 2025, the company released that all-important number, verified by an independent auditor: Qobuz pays an average of $0.01873 per stream, or $18.73 per 1,000 streams.
“We knew we had the best number so we thought we’ll just lay it down,” Mackta says. “Anyone else want to tell us what theirs is? They don’t. ” Spotify’s average per-streamWhen you’re listening to Qobuz, it really is just music.
No free tier, which means no ads. No podcasts, audiobooks, or videos in your feed, so no news when you’re just looking for tunes. It’s music streaming, paid music downloads, and music editorial. More than 100,000 people have joined the, setting out red lines on prohibiting and removing 100 percent generative AI “content,” which has washed into streaming services at an industrial scale in recent years.
This charter outlines how Qobuz uses AI—for admin work, translation, customer support—and what it will not allow, including scraping its catalog to train AI models. The team developed a machine-learning algorithm to detect 100 percent generative AI music tracks; first analyzing new submissions and combing through audio analysis of the “last few years” of the back catalog.
“It’s outrageous, as much as 40 percent of the tracks being delivered ,” Mackta says. “We’ve started seeing some ‘labels’ where 100 percent is AI garbage. Ban this and screw those guys. ” Qobuz plans to roll out in-app AI music tagging this summer, at the release level, while playing “whack-a-mole” with fraudsters flooding the zone.
Aside from system stability and security, considering the now-doubled user base, Qobuz has been playing catch-up on features we now demand from streaming services. Users might find that some older hi-fi systems aren’t compatible—Qobuz Connect is adding partners “all the time,” with Cambridge Audio recently expanding itsinterface just got a makeover, and the company is working to get a native Qobuz app into more connected cars this year.
An updated Qobuz player is coming “soon” and will include synchronized lyrics, as well as quick access to album credits and a new button to pop up the artist’s other releases, records from the same label, and recommendations based on the track you’re listening to. Later in 2026, alongside a Rough Trade partnership, we’ll see more platform music exclusives, formal artist endorsements, and projects across hip-hop, rock, blues, and folk.
From the human-curated Discover New Releases to working with old-school radio stations like WYXR in Memphis and Dublab in LA, Mackta says, “We’re all music people, so we know what we think is cool, and that’s what we do. ” Through Qobuz's recommendations, Mackta has gone deep on classic salsa, specifically the label.
“There's one I just discovered that's like all vibes; it just sounds so good," he says. "To hear vibes, lossless and high-res versus an MP3, that's an instrument where every bit of decay and nuance matters. ” The Qobuz team now has 100 full-time employees—all of whom are shareholders—and 30 contractors. Many of them jump into the Qobuz Club chats themselves, where the community now has a Weekly Album Club.that music would become like “running water.
” Mackta says the quote came up in the company's NYC office the other day.
“There’s so much great music, it’s like drinking from a fire hose,” he says. “We’re like water, but delicious spring water, the very best. ”is a freelance technology journalist and a former associate editor of WIRED. She has also been an associate editor at Wareable and The Ambient and a former reviewer at Stuff.
... Even the aging iPhone 11 will feel a little more responsive soon, thanks to improvements in an unsung iOS feature. From a stand-alone app to a Google Gemini partnership, here’s everything you need to know from WWDC 2026 about Apple’s upcoming overhaul of Siri. Top H&R Block Coupon: 25% Off DIY + Tax Pro AssistBoost your productivity and save with exclusive Google Workspace coupons from WIRED.
Get up to 14% off plans for three months, including Starter, Standard, and Plus tiers. Meta’s upcoming Instagram Plus and Facebook Plus subscriptions are the latest example of the company seeing what works elsewhere and mimicking it. The popular wildfire tracking app is adding flood monitoring to its platform. It’s the first new disaster alert on the service, with many more to come.
The investment comes as Elon Musk’s AI unit faces complaints about the carbon-emitting units and looks to become a big player in cloud computing. Recreation.gov was supposed to make access to public lands more equitable and streamlined. Instead, it’s rife with bots and inequality, while a government contractor benefits. I Spent a Week Recording Myself Doing Chores for Money.
Who's the Robot Now? Cooking. Doing laundry. Tidying up.
All your household tasks can be turned into data to train future humanoids—if you’re prepared for the consequences.
Please follow us on Google to support usUnited States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jake Hall's Unconventional Funeral: Celebration of Life with Music, Art, and Emotional TributesA vibrant celebration of Jake Hall's life featured his ex-girlfriend Chloe Lewis kissing his portrait, DJ sets by his brother Sonny, and an immersive exhibition of his art. Family and friends gathered for an unconventional funeral that honored his legacy.
Read more »
Puerto Rican Day Parade marches through Manhattan with pulsing music and vibrant colorsNew Yorkers who weren’t partied out after the Knicks championship found another excuse to celebrate as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade marched through Manhattan with pulsing music and vibrant colors.
Read more »
Spotify adds editor-led videos to New Music Friday so you can meet the people picking your musicSpotify is embedding editor-led videos inside its New Music Friday playlist for US listeners, giving the weekly discovery experience a more personal feel.
Read more »
Ed Sheeran Steps Back from Music to Focus on FamilySinger Ed Sheeran has announced that he will be stepping back from music to focus on his family. He made the announcement during the first date of his North American tour, saying that he may not be seen again for a while.
Read more »