- Qobuz wants you to make a memory-filled playlist, and explain it
- You can win an iFi iDSD GR 2 for your efforts
- World Alzheimer’s Month runs through September
Alongside ‘Fast songs for the gym’ and ‘Band 101 for introducing a partner to a band on the eve of going to their gig’, remembering moments or periods of your life is one of the most important reasons we make playlists. I still listen to “mix-tapes” (in digital format, mostly) I made while living abroad, road tripping around the outback or preparing for big university parties.
Now, streaming service Qobuz has taken time off its war on AI slop to acknowledge the link between music and memory for World Alzheimer’s Month, teaming up with hi-fi tech brand iFi Audio to do so.
World Alzheimer’s Month runs through September, and during that time, Qobuz and iFi are running a competition to submit a memory-laden playlist, and perhaps win an iFi iDSD GR 2 for your efforts.
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Wait, what’s the link? Well, it has been shown that musical memory remains well-preserved in Alzheimer’s sufferers, and so a song may help with memory recall.
I’m getting this from a study published in the National Library of Medicine, which suggests that music interventions can “delay and decelerate the neurodegeneration in individuals at risk”. But my colleague and Audio Editor tells me she has seen music’s profound effect on memory recall in a fellow dancer who (even in advanced stages of this progressive disease) could still perform decades-old choreography, if the music were played.
Many non-profits, including Music & Memory or Playlist for Life, exist to help people by providing training, awareness or music-based care, to aid those suffering with various degenerative illnesses.
What about that competition?
Oh yes, the competition.
During September, Qobuz and iFi want you to make a playlist (on the former’s hi-res download and streaming platform, of course) full of songs which bring you back to a certain time or important memory.
Then, you need to head over to iFi Audio’s competition landing page, which will give you a few steps to complete and fields to fill in.
This page also lets you provide a ‘short story’ or description of what the playlist means to you. There’s no stated word count, but this whole news story could be pasted into the field with without a problem.
Once you’ve submitted your playlist, you’ll be in with a chance to win the iFi iDSD GR 2 DAC (or digital-analog-converter, to level up your music using, say, the USB-C port on your phone, and on to your wired headphones or earbuds), worth $529 / £529 / AU$849. And that’s a great prize. We gave the iFi IDSD GR 2 a perfect, 5-star review, praising its sound quality and easy-to-use touch-screen. So good luck!
There’s no indication of how the brands will choose a winner; if it’ll be based on the description, or tracks, or at random. It’s also not clear what will happen to the rest of the playlists; maybe Qobuz will publish some of its favorites for all to see, but perhaps the submission is just for the purposes of the competition. Either way, delving back into old albums and tracks that really take you back to a specific moment will be a cathartic — and sometimes profound — experience. Music’s great, isn’t it?
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tom.bedford@hotmail.co.uk (Tom Bedford)
