Free music: New Memphis Listening Lab partnership offers access to 100 million tracks

Memphis Commercial Appeal

The Memphis Listening Lab boasts a collection of some 35,000 45 rpm singles, 15,000 vinyl LPs and 25,000 CDs — but now, the music lover’s den at the Crosstown Concourse will have access to more than 100 million tracks in lossless and high-resolution quality thanks to a new partnership with streaming service Qobuz.

Tori Nute demonstrates someone using a Qobuz streaming device in the “SoundRoom” at the Memphis Listening Lab on Tuesday, September 26, 2023. This service is free to visitors and gives them access to more than 100 million tracks at any of the 10 listening stations within the lab.
(Credit: Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal)

Earlier this month, Qobuz outfitted all 10 of Memphis Listening Lab's listening stations with its service, bringing the highest-quality streaming to the Lab's “SoundRoom." Like all of the access provided to patrons of the lab, the service is free.

In a statement announcing the partnership, Jim Thompson, chairman of the board of the Memphis Listening Lab, said the Lab and Qobuz "are definitely kindred spirits, both dedicated to providing an unmatched musical experience.”

"Qobuz is doing some really innovative things related to music exploration and discovery, which are also core components of MLL’s mission," said Thompson, who also heads the Memphis-based EgglestonWorks speaker company.

A listening station with a Qobuz streaming device can be seen in the “SoundRoom” at the Memphis Listening Lab on Tuesday, September 26, 2023. This service is free to visitors and gives them access to more than 100 million tracks at any of the 10 listening stations within the lab.

Founded in 2021, the Memphis Listening Lab was created as a free nonprofit exploration space housing the extensive musical collection of John King, co-founder of Ardent Records and a veteran radio promoter and historian. (King died in 2022.)

“I don’t know of any other organization quite like the Memphis Listening Lab," said Dan Mackta, managing director of Qobuz North America. "It’s a place where music lovers congregate — and certainly that’s our niche. We get a chance to support a really cool organization and do something in Memphis, one of the great music cities in the world.”

Although based in New York, Mackta is familiar with the Bluff City, having spent five years in Memphis in the mid-‘90s while running his music PR firm Autotonic. Mackta joined the France-based Qobuz when the company launched its service in the United States in 2018.

Earlier this year, after discussions with Thompson, Qobuz decided to partner with the Lab, providing the gear and setup for the enhanced listening stations, which previously only had been set up for playing vinyl.

Listening stations, one with a Qobuz streaming device and others that will soon have them as well, can be seen at the Memphis Listening Lab on Tuesday, September 26, 2023. This service is free to visitors and gives them access to more than 100 million tracks at any of the 10 listening stations within the lab.

“Ultimately, there’s a mutual appreciation,” noted Thompson, “for what we’re doing with the MLL and what Qobuz is doing in the world of high-res streaming audio. It’s a neat way to take what the Lab has been doing with physical media and adding that streaming component to it in the highest quality.”

As part of the Qobuz/Lab linkup, Listening Lab archivist/librarian Jim Cole has curated a special Memphis playlist for Qobuz. The playlist marks the start of what Qobuz hopes will be an ongoing relationship between the company and the Lab.

“The idea will be to collaborate on playlists, on listening events, and whatever we can come up with,” Mackta said. “We feel like for our audience the Lab is a great thing to know about and really should be a music tourism stop for anyone visiting Memphis. It's really a perfect match."

Memphis Listening Lab

Crosstown Concourse, 1350 Concourse Ave., Suite 269

Open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday

Go to Memphislisteninglab.org