Mercedes Brings Music Production Into the Backseat

February 1, 2026

Roberto Baldwin

Mercedes unveils a mobile studio for music producers working with Dolby Atmos. (Mercedes)

For music producers, engineers, and musicians, the studio is a sacred place. It’s a place where creativity can be recorded and eventually shared with fans. Whether that music is being recorded in the studio or at an event, the process of properly mixing the files can be time-consuming. This is doubly true now that artists can release music mixed with Dolby's Atmos technology, a surround sound system that, among other things, takes into account the height of a speaker.

This immersive technology produces music that surrounds the listener, but it involves a rather complex backend that producers and engineers tap into from audio tools like Logic and Pro Tools. They typically do this from a professional studio filled with high-end gear and expensive speakers. Mercedes wants to give these producers and engineers the opportunity to do this work on the go via a new "Crafted in Mercedes" partnership with Dolby and the Universal Music Group.

The pilot program allows producers to mix the same way they would in a studio, but in the back of a Mercedes vehicle. The automaker invited SAE Media to the Universal Music studio in Santa Monica, California in October, to see and hear the system for ourselves.

After listening to a song by the artist Finneas and produced by Aaron Forbes in a large room outfitted with the Dolby Atmos system, Forbes took us into one of the Dolby Atmos-ready studios the producer uses to mix songs. During the demo, Forbes explained that these studios are outfitted with extremely expensive speakers and gear, noting that it's not always possible to find a comparable setup while on the road.

Mercedes demoed the pilot program in the back of a Maybach. (Mercedes)

The demonstration included Forbes showing how different components of a song (known as stems) like the vocals, guitar, background vocals, or drums could be moved independently through a 3D space. For example, lead vocals could be presented in front of the listener while background vocals could be placed behind. Guitars could be placed on side speakers as drums surround the listener. The sky’s the limit unless there are speakers in the ceiling.

Mercedes and Dolby's partnership allows that level of production to be done in a Mercedes using the Dolby Atmos playback system that's already installed in some vehicles. In the back of a Maybach S-Class, Forbes demoed the same song. The dynamic range wasn't as impressive as the studio's, but it was suitable for Forbes to edit the song using the same tools on his laptop.

A Mercedes spokesperson told SAE Media that it was important that the Atmos system in the Mercedes did not require someone to download drivers to access the speakers. To accomplish this, Mercedes changed some of the architecture and render technology of its installed system in order to make Crafted in Mercedes a reality.

Currently Crafted in Mercedes is a pilot program. In the future, this might become an option for a wide array of artists and producers on the go. Mercedes already has Approved in a Mercedes-Benz as a standard for artists to approve their music from an Atmos-outfitted vehicle. Crafted in Mercedes feels like an evolutionary extension of Approved, although the rollout would likely be more difficult and the use case is very narrow. Still, for musicians and producers who spend all their time on the road, this could be their new rolling studio.