MQA Live Ushers in Age of 'Social and Appointment Listening,' Says CEO

The first live concert over MQA Live streamed to an invitation-only gathering last week in Austin, said MQA Monday. Folk singer Jake Isaac and his band, performing at London’s Rocket Studio, streamed tunes to an Austin home outfitted with various devices chosen to recreate everyday listening environments. MQA Live streams music from “wherever and whenever” artists are performing, allowing fans to listen to a concert, in real time, in its original quality “as if they were standing in the venue,” said the company. MQA CEO Mike Jbara said the channel opens an age of “social and appointment listening,” a new way for artists to connect with fans. With MQA Live, a venue needs a real-time MQA encoder, which connects to a venue’s audio system and chosen delivery platform. MQA music will stream and play back on any device, but to get optimum results of the full MQA “unfold,” listeners need MQA-compatible products, which include players from companies including LG, Onkyo, Pioneer and Sony and many other digital-to-analog converters, network streamers, amplifiers, sound bars and disc players.