February 4, 2020

NAMM 2020: Empowering Tomorrow's Content Creators

{{ videoLinkButton.text }} {{ videoLinkButton.text }}
This past January, over 115,000 people attended the 2020 NAMM Show to pioneer and discover music advancements of the next decade. Dolby is committed to introducing the next revolution in music creation to both artists and consumers. For this reason, we chose this year as Dolby's debut at the world's largest trade show for music products, pro audio, and entertainment technology. Building on our milestones from the past few months, we joined the worldwide pilgrimage to establish Dolby Atmos Music in the crossroads of music and sound technology.
Dolby Atmos Music is for all artists and fans looking to create and experience music like never before. For artists, we have made it easy to create new Dolby Atmos Music—via new content creation tools and integrations into existing music workflows. For consumers, we have launched a number of new ways for them to discover it for themselves—via accessible streaming services and compatible playback devices. Following this growing support for creation and playback from our partner ecosystem, we arrived at NAMM to spread the word about Dolby Atmos Music and lay the groundwork for future innovation.

"Dolby Atmos draws me in as a listener and it also opens up creativity for the people making the records."

 

- Michael Romanowski, GRAMMY-nominated Mastering Engineer and Owner of Coast Mastering

Content Creation Station

Dolby Atmos Music is supported on multiple content creation tools that creatives use today. Guests were welcome to mix music in their preferred digital audio workstation.

Dolby Atmos Living Rooms

Plenty of lounge seating offered visitors a place to relax and enjoy Dolby Atmos Music on a 5.1.4 speaker system. A separate living room area streamed Dolby Atmos Music on Amazon Music HD with Echo Studio.

Dolby Atmos Music on TIDAL

Compatible Android devices gave visitors a free trial listen of Dolby Atmos Music on TIDAL.

Dolby On Demos

Walk-in guests were introduced to Dolby On, our mobile recording app with automatic mixing technology to balance out any recording.
Learn More

{{ currentIndex }}

/

{{ pagesCountIndex }}

Our Main Attraction

The Dolby Lounge was one of the few NAMM floor exhibits that encouraged attendees to take a break from the show's madness. With a welcoming hand, we invited guests to explore the space and enjoy first-hand experiences of Dolby Atmos Music through content creation tools, a 5.1.4 home theater system, an Echo Studio streaming Amazon Music HD, and Android devices streaming TIDAL. We also featured Dolby On, our mobile recording app that helps streamline creative processes from content capture to completion. Step into a virtual tour below.
For a majority of visitors, NAMM was their first experience of Dolby Atmos Music. A dedicated living room for Echo Studio demos highlighted the first smart speaker to support our listening experiences. Compatible Android phones playing top hits in Dolby Atmos drove traffic to our second partnered streaming service, TIDAL. The Dolby Lounge provided many avenues to engage with guests of all backgrounds while showcasing our growing music libraries on Amazon Music and TIDAL.

"The most exciting thing about the Atmos system is how easy it is to use and to implement in my mixes."

 

- Sylvia Massy, Music Producer

Artists and other creators are always quick to ask how they can create Dolby Atmos Music. Dolby has worked hard to integrate Dolby Atmos Music creation into the existing workflows that are used today. At our content creation station, guests lined up to check out tools that support Dolby Atmos Music. This station provided opportunities to experience music creation using leading digital audio workstations (DAWs), including Pro Tools, Logic Pro and Ableton Live. We also featured the newly-released Dolby Atmos Music Panner plug-in, which operates in DAWs like Logic Pro and Ableton Live making it easier for artists to pan audio objects as they create Dolby Atmos Music.

Dolby Employee Being Interviewed at NAMM 2020

Amidst the crush of the NAMM foot traffic, the Dolby Lounge hosted a number of the industry's top engineers and mixers who came to discuss their work with Dolby Atmos Music. This was a great opportunity for Dolby to interface with a key part of the community that has helped us shape the tools we develop for Dolby Atmos Music creation. NAMM was also a great space to capture on-the-scene interviews with GRAMMY-winning engineers and distinguished producers who champion Dolby Atmos in their own work. Stay tuned to see our forthcoming mixer series featuring testimonials from various industry leaders at NAMM.

Dolby Recreational Vehicle Outside NAMM Event

An Outdoor Oasis

In addition to the Dolby Lounge, we created a second space for visitors to relax in the Dolby Airstream Experience, parked at the main entrance of NAMM. The Airstream provided ample privacy for comprehensive demonstrations of Dolby Atmos Music with an Echo Studio, a Sennheiser AMBEO sound bar, and a 5.1.4 Pro Tools setup in the mixing studio area. Take a peek inside:

Inside the Airstream, our senior engineers led small group demos that catered to all levels of technical knowledge—opening up in-depth conversations about the transformative impact of Dolby Atmos Music. The mixing studio captivated many engineers looking to install Dolby Atmos tools into their own mixing setups. Other guests representing press and business partnerships advocated for bringing the Dolby Airstream Experience to more destinations. As a traveling Dolby Atmos listening experience, stay tuned for where it parks itself next.

Dolby interviewed at NAMM 2020

"It's the emotional impact that you can achieve using Atmos, and that's apparent in 'Rocket Man'."

 

- Greg Penny (above), Mixing Engineer for Elton John's "Rocket Man"

An Expanding Ecosystem

Our partners elevated our NAMM footprint, as they showcased how Dolby Atmos expands the creative palette for music creators. Content creation tools by Avid and Steinberg demonstrated how to create Dolby Atmos Music with their existing programs. Avid's exhibit featured a Dolby Atmos Pro Tools mixing station and hosted daily Dolby Atmos mixing sessions on their main stage. Steinberg installed a workstation to highlight how Dolby Atmos is integrated into their Nuendo DAW.

"We're enabling all creators to have the best experience possible when they're creating that content in Dolby Atmos."

 

- Greg "Stryke" Chin, Audio Product Evangelist at Avid

 
Crowded People In Front Of Dolby Stand in NAMM

A number of playback activations on the show floor also featured Dolby Atmos technology. The "Mix with the Masters" stage hosted multiple discussions on creating immersive music in Dolby Atmos. Speaker manufacturers ATC, Focal, Genelec, and PMC all featured Dolby Atmos listening rooms in their respective booths. Working with each exhibitor to fine-tune content for polished product demonstrations, we skillfully integrated listening experiences for Dolby Atmos Music throughout the show.

"Dolby Atmos is getting bigger. We've had great reactions and we are really happy we went with this system. People really love it!"

 

- Olivier Hebert, Product Manager at Focal

The Future of Music is Here

Industry professionals around the world are working to release Dolby Atmos Music, including our partners at Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group. Chart-topping like Lizzo, Coldplay and J Balvin are already embracing how Dolby Atmos Music brings them closer to their fans, and we want to share this experience with all levels of music creators and fans. This year at NAMM, Dolby engaged with thousands of attendees, offering them opportunities to join our community of trailblazers paving the way forward in music.

Keep in touch

Where do you work in the entertainment industry?
Are you a music creator?
What is your role?