The Spatial Audio Network Europe (SANE) brings together renowned partners from the fields of immersive audio technologies with 3D audio live venues and artists, aiming at creating an innovative hybrid immersive concert experience: In 2025 you’ll be able to experience one 3D performance taking place in different venues across Europe at once for the first time, thanks to the real-time spatial streaming standard SANE develops.

SANE closely connects expertise, artists, venues and audiences in 3D audio across Europe. 8 institutions from 4 countries cooperate to develop the technical standards for spatial live streaming from one venue to another. SANE offers residencies to support artists in working with spatial sound. A hybrid space for research and development, creative exchange and artistic production in spatial audio is growing here to foster the young European 3D audio network alongside the need to find ecologically responsible ways to connect and exchange. SANE is currently scheduled until 2025, but built to last and grow, to create a sustainable network and structure.

What is spatial audio?

Spatial audio, also known as 3D audio or immersive audio, describes innovative technologies used to create acoustic virtual realities: A holistic new experience of listening that allows one to fully dive into three-dimensional sound worlds – the promising future of sound.

Our vision

SANE embarked on a quest to revolutionize the distribution and touring of immersive concerts and shows. In 2024, the partners are working on synchronizing their venue’s hardware and software, establishing a robust infrastructure for live streaming between locations. This technical breakthrough creates a blueprint for a standard that finally allows 3D audio productions to be presented in different venues using various 3D audio engines without complex customization that was necessary so far. Using SANE’s technical standard, tours of 3D audio performances become possible.

SANE provides residencies at all partnering institutions to train artists in 3D audio techniques, fostering the future development of spatial music. Through artistic sponsorships, eight spatial audio pieces will be created throughout the project and showcased in 2025:

Invited artists will unveil their creations in a hybrid immersive concert tour spanning the partner venues. Each concert will be streamed live across multiple locations simultaneously, leveraging the cutting-edge spatial streaming infrastructure developed in the preceding year.

Activities and Goals for 2024/25

• Achieving compatibility between 3D audio venues and technologies
• Establishing a streaming standard for multichannel 3D audio formats
• Supporting spatial artistic creation and production through residencies
• Launching a hybrid concert series of 3D audio performances