300 Aussie Bands Sign Up To New HD Audio Store

26 August 2014 | 12:05 pm | Staff Writer

Open HD start-up to launch early October

A new Australian music industry start-up will launch an online store for high definition music tracks in early October and is currently locking in partners.

Open HD, a project of music industry professionals from the fields of live production, promotion and retail/wholesale, is currently locking in deals with bands, labels and content aggregators ahead of the launch. Today Open HD rep Ando McDougall told theMusic.com.au that as many as 300 bands had signed on to the platform.

Melbourne metal band Frankenbok are among the early partners, through their label Fair Dinkum Records.

Tracks offered through the a la carte service, which aims to sit alongside existing online retail and social media hubs, will come at the studio-quality rate of above 44.1kHz, or basically CD quality and higher. High quality audio formats have struggled to breakthrough to the mainstream, but Open HD hope to capitalise on an influx of devices that support the files in recent years – including smart phones, smart televisions and gaming consoles.

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

Open HD’s Audio Technology Director Simon Tait said, “OpenHD is based on the simple concept that artists, performers, venues and listeners all believe that music should be delivered to the fans exactly as it was performed.”

Price points are currently being negotiated but there will likely be set pricing for releases through the site.

While the platform aims to also build communities for bands (who’ll have access to the data of those who purchase their productions and won't pay to sell their wares through it), the creation of new retail revenue streams is the primary focus.

The group are currently running surveys for artists, labels and venues to help shape the platform, which is focusing on the Australian and New Zealand territories for its initial roll out.