Per-track spatial audio conversion of Indian label back catalogues
TL;DR Roundmix converts old film and regional songs into spatial audio for Indian music labels. Software splits the stereo master into stems and then trained engineers place and finish each mix. Labels pay a fixed price per track and earn more per stream on services that reward spatial versions.
Since January 2024, one major streaming service has counted plays of tracks available in spatial audio at 1.1 times the weight of others, even when the listener hears the stereo version[1]. If a label hasn't converted its catalogue then it's leaving that bonus to rivals.
Converting is slow and dear. Industry executives put a spatial mix at about US$1,000 extra per song, roughly ₹97,000, and an album at ten times that[2]. Indian back catalogues run to film songs from decades ago, often without surviving multitrack tapes, and that maths rules out most of the archive. Only the hits get done.
Roundmix runs a conversion line built for volume. For tracks without multitracks, stem-separation models split the stereo master into vocals, rhythm, strings and the rest. A Roundmix engineer then places those stems in an immersive mixing room using house templates for common Indian arrangements, like a film orchestra or a ghazal ensemble, and checks the result on speakers and headphones. A senior engineer signs off every track before it goes out with the label's metadata.
Labels send a list and Roundmix returns finished spatial audio files in batches, priced by tier - separated-stereo source, original stems, or full multitrack.
The seed pitched intuitive AI tools so anyone could create spatial audio. I'd point it at rights owners instead. Independent creators get little extra money from spatial mixes, while labels holding thousands of tracks get paid more per stream the moment those versions go live[1].
Music labels pay, from the big catalogue owners to regional labels with a few thousand songs. The buyers are catalogue and digital teams who already pay for remasters and lyric syncing. The reference price is the roughly US$1,000 per song that a traditional spatial mix costs[2], and Roundmix would aim well below that for back-catalogue work. The exact price needs testing.
Three shifts line up. That service's 1.1 factor started in 2024[1]. Indian streaming has caught up on playback too - one Indian streaming app added immersive audio at no extra cost in August 2023, with major film-label catalogues in eight languages[3]. And stem separation is now good enough that the major labels use it, including to prepare immersive mixes[4].
Nobody publishes a figure for spend on spatial conversion in India. The narrowest signal is demand from labels themselves, since one major film studio began moving its catalogue to immersive audio in October 2020 and said it would keep scaling up[5]. At about US$1,000 a song by traditional methods[2], even a few thousand tracks a year is a real services business.
Labels do some conversion in-house or through Mumbai and Chennai mixing studios, but at a hit-by-hit pace. One major film studio was first to move a catalogue[5]. Stem-separation firms sell to the global major labels and note their stems are used for immersive mixes[4], but it doesn't deliver finished mixes.
What's missing is a production line that turns separated stems into signed-off spatial tracks at volume.
| Difficulty | Moderate (46/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹60 L–1.2 Cr |
| Time to launch | 6–10 months |
You need an immersive-capable room, engineers who can mix Indian arrangements, and separation good enough that old recordings don't smear. The bigger job is convincing labels that volume work won't cheapen a catalogue they've guarded for decades, and that takes time.
No special licence is needed for mixing services. The baseline applies, plus careful contracts.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't ship anything on AI alone. A senior engineer signs off every track, because a bad mix of a classic song hurts the label's catalogue.
Want to work out the AI layer for Roundmix? Talk to Yash →
This is a good fit if you have mixing credentials and label relationships. It's a poor fit if you're hoping to build software alone. Before you spend on a room, convert 20 tracks for one label and get them released without a single return for quality.
Plan for roughly ₹60 L–1.2 Cr, mainly an immersive-capable room, engineers and separation tools.
No sector licence. You need company and GST registration and contracts where the label warrants it owns the master and can authorise new versions.
Yes. Labels everywhere hold back catalogues. Check local copyright rules on derivative versions and each platform's delivery specs.
The free Roundmix validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the rights and contract checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for labels, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Roundmix or something close to it? The make-or-break work is proving separation quality on old masters to a sceptical label, and I can help you plan that pitch. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.