Independent record labels are pushing back against Apple's plan to pay more for songs recorded in higher-quality audio, as it takes money away from non-"spatial" songs.

Apple's spatial audio technology, Dolby Atmos, provides a higher-end audio experience and costs more to produce.

Apple will pay up to 10% more for spatial audio songs, but this will come from a fixed pot of money, reducing payments for non-spatial songs.

Independent labels, such as Beggars Group, Secretly, and Partisan Records, have expressed concerns about the impact on their revenues.

Producing music in spatial audio costs an extra $1,000 per song or $10,000 per album, which smaller labels struggle to justify.

Independent labels do not have the leverage to pull their music from Apple's platform and hope to work with Apple to make changes.

Some record executives question the artistic value of spatial audio and believe it will negatively impact their global revenues.

Apple has not commented on the situation, and the labels are considering legal or regulatory options if negotiations fail.