M365 Changelog: Music Mode for Teams

MC267133 – Updated February 18, 2022: Microsoft has updated the rollout timeline below. Microsoft will not be rolling out to GCC-High and DoD at this time and will communicate via Message center when it’s are ready to proceed. Microsoft apologizes for any inconvenience.

This new feature release can be used to transmit high fidelity music. Users will be able to conduct online music lessons, transmit music performances, or other non-speech content.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 83520

When this will happen:

• Standard: Microsoft will begin rolling this out in mid-January (previously late November) and expect to complete rollout late February (previously late January). – Complete
• GCC: Microsoft will begin rolling this out in mid-January (previously late November) and expect to complete rollout late February (previously late January).
• GCC-High/DoD: Microsoft will communicate via Message center when it’s are ready to proceed.

How this will affect your organization:

This update provides the option for the user to transmit high fidelity music. Teams will automatically adjust the audio bit rate based on the available bandwidth, going down to 48 kbps while still delivering good music quality. Microsoft also provides users with the option to turn off components such as echo cancellation, noise suppression, and gain control if needed.

• In music mode, Microsoft Teams supports up to 32 kHz sampling rate mono audio at 128 kbps and optimize our internal audio processing settings for reproducing music with high fidelity.
• To benefit from this improved fidelity, professional microphones and headphones or high-quality external loudspeakers are ideal (no Bluetooth headsets).
• Built-in microphones and speakers on laptops such as the Surface Book will also deliver a good sound experience.

To enable this feature, please go to Teams Settings > Device Settings and turn on high fidelity music mode. You can choose to turn off echo cancellation when using high quality, closed back headphones. If you use a professional microphone which includes external gain adjustment, you can disable the auto-adjust mic sensitivity setting.

View image in new tab

• Please make these adjustments prior to starting the meeting. The feature cannot be turned on from within the meeting if the above-mentioned adjustments have not been made prior to the meeting.
• Once in the meeting, turn on the high-fidelity audio icon. The icon is located at the top of the Ubar.

View image in new tab

• Please toggle the Ubar music mode icon to off once you have completed your music session.

View image in new tab

Notes:

• This feature is best used to transmit music or non-speech content. For regular conference calls with speech content, to conserve bandwidth, Microsoft suggests not enabling music.
• When using the music mode feature, Microsoft suggests using a wired connection rather than wireless.

What you need to do to prepare:

You might want to notify your users about this new capability and update your training and documentation as appropriate.