Initially, Apple’s biggest challenge was that there was very little Atmos content available. In 2017, R.E.M.’s “Automatic for the People” became the first album to be mixed for Atmos, and in the following years several notable Atmos releases – from Elton John, Queen and the Beatles – showcased the format’s capabilities.
To achieve its broader goals, Apple needed to make Atmos content both viable and abundant. It started by partnering with Dolby to encourage recording studios to upgrade to the format. There are now some 800 officially licensed Dolby Atmos studios in more than 40 countries, an increase of 350 percent in just two years. (Dolby estimates there are two or three times as many other studios that can provide music in Atmos.)
Apple Music also created wish lists of artists, albums, and songs and presented them to record labels, along with funding and deadlines, to rapidly expand the library of titles available in Atmos. Over the past few years, this attempt to retool 50 years of pop music has ushered in a rush of work for engineers and mixers, who suddenly found themselves doing volume business in the format.
Wood, who was initially dismissive of learning how to work in Atmos, said he changed his mind when he realized the rise was inevitable. “It was clear that records I had made would be mixed in Atmos,” he said, “and if I didn’t learn how to do it, someone else would, and I would relinquish control.” Wood’s first Atmos mix was for Liz Phair’s “Soberish,” an album he had originally produced. “And I also realized that learning would make for a good day,” he added.
While contemporary pop and hip-hop artists quickly adopted the format for new releases, convincing veteran rock acts to enter the Atmos fray proved more challenging. “For the first six months, those artists had a lot of questions,” Schusser said.
Some groups, such as the Doors, embraced the format and overhauled their entire catalog in Atmos at once; others, like Fleetwood Mac, have taken a more cautious approach and made one album at a time. But increasingly, top artists are releasing Atmos mixes with increasing regularity, with recent releases including landmark albums such as Pink Floyd’s“The Dark Side of the Moon” and the Beach Boys“Pet Sounds”.
