Airtel Wynk Music launches Dolby Atmos support for music catalogue

Airtel Wynk Music Wednesday announced the launch of Dolby Atmos for its app, becoming the first Indian music streaming service to offer an immersive listening experience. Wynk Music joins Apple Music, which was the first streaming service to roll out Dolby Atmos in the country. Airtel said the Dolby Atmos music catalogue in Wynk Music includes songs across eight languages, including Hindi and English.

Wynk Music has partnered with Dolby Laboratories, as well as labels such as Yash Raj Films (YRF), Saregama, Phonographic Digital Limited (PDL), to offer Dolby Atmos music at no additional cost. This means both free and paid users of Wynk Music can listen to Dolby Atmos music, provided they use a compatible iOS or Android Dolby Atmos-enabled smartphone.

Since Wynk Music said it will not charge users any additional fee for Dolby Atmos content, it takes directly on Apple Music, which, too, offers Dolby Atmos music at no additional cost but requires a subscription. Airtel’s Wynk Music, on the other hand, is a freemium service where you pay only to get an ad-free experience.

Wynk Music’s announcement comes amid the speculation that the world’s most popular music streaming service Spotify is working on its highest-end tier, dubbed ‘Supremium’. Spotify announced its own lossless music streaming tier Spotify HiFi back in 2020 but has not been able to launch it yet. Several reports suggest that Apple Music’s decision to offer Dolby Atmos and lossless music with no additional charge derailed Spotify’s grand launch, causing the Swedish company to re-strategise its most expensive plan.

Other rivals, such as Amazon Music and Tidal, also offer Dolby Atmos music, but none of them is available in India. That puts Wynk Music in a sweet spot where users now have the option to listen to Dolby Atmos music without having to pay for it — of course, that is when they agree to an ad-supported experience.

Commenting on the launch, Edwin Charles Albert, Head – Content and Partnerships, Airtel Digital said, “Delighting customers by giving them the best continues to be our core proposition. Our partnership with Dolby combines Wynk’s core strengths of an extensive library and superior music delivery with a never-before audio experience in Dolby Atmos will certainly enhance user experience immeasurably. We will continue to add partners with cutting-edge technologies with the aim to consistently deliver the best music experience.”

Karan Grover, Senior Director – Commercial Partnerships IMEA Dolby Laboratories said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Wynk Music and bring this revolutionary music experience to more music fans, taking their music experience to the next level. Whether listening at home or on the go, nothing takes listeners right inside the song like Dolby Atmos.”