Qobuz
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2007
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
Qobuz firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Qobuz
- Legal name
- XANDRIE SA
- Website
- https://qobuz.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2007
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Qobuz industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Music Streaming
- NAICS
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621)
- akta.pro primary industry
- HiFi/Immersive & Premium Audio Streaming (MPAIACAD)
Keywords
Where Qobuz is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Qobuz business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Streaming Subscriptions: Qobuz generates revenue primarily from paid streaming subscriptions. The company operates exclusively on a paid model with no free tier, offering multiple subscription tiers including individual, duo, family, and student plans. The Sublime hybrid plan offers both streaming access and discounts on music downloads. With 700,000 paid subscribers and ARPU of $135.90 (over 6.5x the industry average), the company achieved operational breakeven in 2025.
- Digital Music Downloads: Qobuz operates a download store allowing users to permanently purchase albums and tracks in lossless CD quality or Hi-Res formats (up to 24-bit/192kHz). Download purchases are DRM-free, giving users full ownership of audio files. The Sublime subscription provides 60% discounts on Hi-Res album purchases.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Individual monthly subscription for unlimited streaming |
| Subscription | Annual | Individual annual subscription with discounted rate |
| Hybrid | Annual | Sublime hybrid plan combining streaming and download discounts |
| Subscription | Annual | Duo plan for two users |
| Subscription | Annual | Family plan for multiple users |
| Subscription | Annual | Student discount subscription |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels6 records
Qobuz product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Qobuz operates a paid high-resolution music streaming and download platform offering over 100 million tracks in lossless CD quality and Hi-Res audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. The service combines unlimited streaming subscriptions with an integrated DRM-free digital download store for permanent music ownership. It differentiates through human editorial curation, the highest published per-stream artist royalty rates, and proprietary Qobuz Connect technology that streams directly to compatible hi-fi devices.
Product overview
Qobuz is a French high-resolution music streaming platform founded in 2007, owned by a private French family group since 2015, operating across 26 countries with the United States as its largest market. The company's product portfolio centers on two core offerings: premium hi-res music streaming (up to 24-bit/192kHz) with over 100 million tracks, and a DRM-free download store for permanent music ownership. These are complemented by subscription tiers including Studio (standard streaming), Sublime (hybrid with streaming plus 60% discounts on downloads), Duo (two-user plan), Family (household), and Student (discounted). Qobuz differentiates through proprietary Qobuz Connect technology for direct hi-fi streaming, an editorial Magazine with human-curated content (Panoramas, reviews, interviews), and the highest per-stream royalty rates in the industry ($18.73/1,000 streams). The platform offers native applications across desktop (Windows/Mac), mobile (iOS/Android), web, Android TV, CarPlay, and Android Auto, with integrations into third-party software (Roon, Audirvana, Volumio) and hardware ecosystems (Cambridge Audio, Denon, Naim, Marantz, Sonos, etc.). Qobuz has achieved EBITDA break-even and expects positive net results by March 2027, serving 1.2 million monthly active users and 700,000 paid subscribers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Qobuz Sublime: Hybrid subscription plan offering streaming access plus 60% discount on DRM-free Hi-Res album purchases
- Qobuz Duo
- Qobuz Family
- Qobuz Student
- Qobuz Connect
- Qobuz Society
- Qobuz Club
Products and services
- Qobuz Streaming
- Qobuz Download Store
- Qobuz Sublime
Quantifiable outcome
- ARPU of $135.90 per subscriber, more than 6.5x the industry average of $20.74
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Qobuz
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Qobuz technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
AI capability6 records
Feature4 records
Qobuz partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Rough TradecoreTwo-year global co-promotion partnership (through 2028) making Qobuz the official music streaming service across Rough Trade's nine stores in the UK, US, and Germany. Partnership includes streaming deals, discounts for Qobuz subscribers at Rough Trade stores, exclusive discounts for Rough Trade customers on Qobuz subscriptions, and co-produced live in-store events and performances. Timed to Rough Trade's 50th anniversary.
- Cambridge AudiocoreQobuz Connect support extended to Cambridge Audio's legacy StreamMagic Gen 2 and Gen 3 streamers, bringing high-resolution music streaming to products including StreamMagic 6 V2, CXN, CXR, Azur 851N, CXN V2 and Edge NQ. Partnership enables direct streaming from Qobuz app to compatible hi-fi devices.
- Drowned in SoundminorSix-month partnership (December 2025 to June 2026) with UK-based independent music magazine Drowned in Sound to produce a series of artist-first podcasts, with Qobuz as title sponsor.
- DenoncoreQobuz Connect technology integrated across Denon products for native high-resolution audio streaming from Qobuz app.
- NaimcoreQobuz Connect technology integrated across Naim audio products for native high-resolution streaming support.
- WiiMcoreWiiM streamers support Qobuz Connect for direct high-resolution audio streaming from Qobuz app.
- LumincoreLumin network players include Qobuz Connect integration for native high-resolution streaming.
- MarantzcoreMarantz products feature Qobuz Connect integration for direct high-resolution streaming support.
- FocalcoreFocal headphones and audio products are part of Qobuz's ecosystem with testing ground reviews and product integration.
- DevialetcoreDevialet premium audio products are part of Qobuz's verified ecosystem for high-resolution audio playback.
- SonoscoreSonos speakers and audio systems support Qobuz streaming through the Sonos app ecosystem.
- AccessiwayminorQobuz collaborates with Accessiway on digital accessibility improvements for its website and applications, working toward RGAA 4.1.2 compliance.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Qobuz competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Tidal: Tidal is the most direct competitor to Qobuz, both operating paid-only, HiFi-focused music streaming services emphasizing high-resolution audio, lossless formats, and artist-friendly royalty models. Both target audiophile consumers and integrate with premium hi-fi hardware ecosystems.
- Deezer: Deezer is a Paris-headquartered music streaming competitor with overlapping European focus, paid and ad-supported tiers, and similar independent challenger positioning versus Spotify. Both compete in the same European core market with comparable artist-payout transparency initiatives.
- HDtracks: HDtracks is a direct competitor in the Hi-Res music download store business that Qobuz operates alongside its streaming service. Both target audiophiles seeking 24-bit FLAC/WAV/AIFF downloads for permanent ownership and high-fidelity listening.
Broad incumbents
- Apple Music: Apple Music offers lossless and Hi-Res lossless audio tiers at no incremental cost, directly overlapping with Qobuz's Hi-Res positioning. It is a much broader incumbent with hundreds of millions of subscribers and deep hardware integration via AirPods and HomePod.
- Amazon Music Unlimited: Amazon Music offers an HD tier with lossless and Hi-Res audio at competitive pricing, supported by Echo and Alexa ecosystem integration. As a broad incumbent with massive scale, it competes on price-QoS tradeoffs with Qobuz's premium positioning.
- Spotify: Spotify is the dominant mainstream music streaming incumbent against which Qobuz positions itself as the anti-Spotify alternative — paid-only, no AI music, higher artist payouts. Qobuz's growth is directly tied to Spotify user dissatisfaction with AI content and price hikes.
Emerging players
- Bandcamp: Bandcamp is a download/store platform focused on independent artists with similar anti-mainstream, artist-friendly positioning to Qobuz. Both appeal to listeners seeking direct support for independent musicians, though Bandcamp lacks streaming depth.
- Idagio: Idagio is a niche classical music streaming service that, like Qobuz, pursues a specialized segment of music listeners seeking higher audio quality and curated, genre-focused content. Both demonstrate the viability of focused, premium streaming against mainstream players.
Others
- 7digital: 7digital is a B2B music platform providing streaming and download infrastructure to consumer services, comparable to the technology backbone supporting Qobuz's catalog and download store. Adjacent rather than directly competitive.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Qobuz social profiles
Digital presenceQobuz compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Qobuz financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Qobuz leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Qobuz funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Qobuz M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Qobuz
What does Qobuz do?
Qobuz operates a paid high-resolution music streaming and download platform offering over 100 million tracks in lossless CD quality and Hi-Res audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. The service combines unlimited streaming subscriptions with an integrated DRM-free digital download store for permanent music ownership. It differentiates through human editorial curation, the highest published per-stream artist royalty rates, and proprietary Qobuz Connect technology that streams directly to compatible hi-fi devices.
Is Qobuz a public or private company?
Qobuz is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Qobuz founded?
Qobuz was founded in 2007. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Qobuz based?
Qobuz is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Qobuz make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Streaming Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are digital Music Downloads.
Who are Qobuz's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Tidal, Deezer and HDtracks. Broad incumbents are Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited and Spotify. Emerging players are Bandcamp and Idagio. 7digital is listed as an others.
Does Qobuz have an API?
No public API is recorded for Qobuz.
What industry is Qobuz in?
Qobuz's product category is Music Streaming. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIACAD, HiFi/Immersive & Premium Audio Streaming. Its NAICS code is 5162.