#TheWeeklyRoundUp – 07.01.23

Amazon Music and Fraunhofer are partnering to reveal 360-degree immersive sound while driving at CES 2023 (digital music news)

Fraunhofer IIS is the primary developer of the MPEG-H 3D Audio standard, which serves as the base for Amazon Music’s 360 Reality Audio. Now both companies will demonstrate how the format can be experienced while driving at CES 2023. “During the live demo in an Audi e-tron that’s equipped with a production 3D sound system, CES visitors will be able for the first time to experience Amazon Music’s 360 Reality Audio immersive service streamed to an automotive environment,” the press release reads. 

Advanced in-car sound systems for premium, mid-range, and even entry-level vehicles benefit from discrete spatial audio content that preserves the artist’s intent and reproduce the best possible sound in the car. Rear-seat entertainment systems with installed screens can render immersive audio over headphones with head-tracking and in addition make use of the interactivity, personalization, and accessibility features of MPEG-H Audio that already exist in streaming and broadcast. 

MPEG-H Audio also enables advanced warning sounds with spatially rendered signaling. Audio objects can be positioned freely within an MPEG-H Audio mix. Only one warning sound item needs to be produced across all car models and the warning sound will be rendered at the correct position according to the available playback system.

The 360 Reality Audio music format based on MPEG-H 3D Audio offers a new music ecosystem. It utilizes Sony’s object-based 360 Spatial Sound technology, which gives artists and music creators a sound stage for building a spatial musical experience.

“Fraunhofer has a long and successful history of providing best-in-class automotive audio solutions to the industry,” adds Marc Gayer, Head of Business Department & Deputy Division Director Audio & Media Technologies at Fraunhofer IIS. “The availability of 360 Reality Audio content from Amazon Music in cars is the perfect match to the advancements in audio rendering capabilities that we’ve been striving for.”

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Paul McCartney’s daughter gives intimate tour of Abbey Road in new documentary (channel 24)

The daughter of pop megastar Paul McCartney has given an intimate peek into the hallowed halls of Abbey Road, the studio where he – and many other music stars – recorded masterpieces. Mary McCartney directed the new documentary, If These Walls Could Sing, which gets a worldwide release on Disney+ on 6 January after premiering in North America in December.

The London studio gave its name to arguably The Beatles’ most beloved record, 1969’s Abbey Road, and it was on the nearby zebra crossing that the Fab Four shot their legendary cover photo.

“I have a personal connection with the studio,” Mary McCartney told AFP. “I grew up coming here; we lived nearby. I have a very funny picture that I love – my mum [Linda McCartney] leading a pony across the zebra crossing.” Inevitably, The Beatles occupy a major part of the 90-minute documentary since they recorded no less than 190 of their 210 songs there.

But Abbey Road has a long history, established in 1931 by record company EMI. Initially dedicated to classical music, it had cutting-edge technology for the time and was used by composer and conductor Edward Elgar shortly before his death in 1934. “So many people come to Abbey Road to the zebra crossing but don’t come inside because it’s a busy working studio, so I wanted to bring the viewer inside,” said McCartney.

The studio became “the bunker” for The Beatles after the hysteria surrounding the group led them to quit touring in 1966, recalls Giles Martin, son of their producer George Martin, in the film. Many stars have since sought to tap into the magic of the place, from Elton John and Pink Floyd to Led Zeppelin and Oasis – all of whom feature in the new film.

“Each person tells a different story, different aspects of what makes Abbey Road a whole,” said Mary McCartney.

Beatles fans have been spoiled recently, with the new documentary coming a little over a year after Get Back in which director Peter Jackson painstakingly reworked footage of the band writing and rehearsing the album Let it Be, including their famous performance on the roof of Abbey Road.