Dolby Atmos Music and the Production of Risk

The launch of Dolby Atmos in 2012 marked a significant development in commercial surround sound, allowing for audio to be positioned above as well as around the listener and for a single surround sound mix to be played back on a variety of loudspeaker configurations. This chapter traces the expansion of the platform from the cinema into recorded music and examines its potential impacts on the working lives of recording artists, producers, and engineers working within the industry. I situate the technology as part of a broader shift towards individualisation and atomisation in music production and argue that a significant side-effect of its rapid growth has been an increase in risk for those working in recorded music. I demonstrate how the rise of Dolby Atmos Music has compelled individual music creators to speculate on the future of the format by choosing whether or not to invest the time and resources required to adopt it. I argue that the mutable nature of the software platform, Dolby’s ambitious expansion strategy, and challenging economic conditions in the music industry at large render these investments highly precarious. I contend that the associated risks fall disproportionately on those with fewest resources and that this dynamic threatens to exacerbate existing inequalities within the music industry.