Apple persuades labels to increase the bit depth to 24 bits
Historically, the music on the Internet is sold with a deliberately low resolution to 16 bits. The tradition goes back to the days of the CD, where the sound was recorded in exactly this quality, although studio originals are 24 bits wide. Previously, broadband Internet users had a wonder, so that the contraction of up to 16 bits and even the wrapping in the “popular” MP3 format with distortion could somehow be justified.
But difficult times are over, and why labels are worsening the quality of sound before selling today is difficult to understand. Perhaps they are sure that most listeners do not care about this question or they will not feel the difference. Of course, it is not. According to the statistics of musicians who sell files directly (Trent Reznor, Radiohead), the uncompressed format is always in high demand, even if it is sold at a higher price.
Musicians bitterly state the fact that the digital revolution has led to the degradation of sound. Even 30-40 years ago, most people had the opportunity to listen to music in normal quality with vinyl, and now it remains the lot of a narrow layer of audiophiles. The rest of the audience is content with degraded copies in the form of an MP3 or CD.
Apple's perfectionists are extremely annoyed at this and they began negotiations with the studios to change the situation.
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The problem is that not all electronic devices support 24-bit audio playback. If there are usually no questions with Macintosh computers (they have been “sharpened” for working with sound for decades), then, for example, the iPod and iPhone are not capable of this. Therefore, Apple will have to modify the next versions of its popular gadgets so that they finally learn how to play sound in normal quality. Through iTunes even now you can sell such files.
Apple has already conducted a one-time upgrade of sound quality in the iTunes store. In January 2009, most of the tracks were replaced with similar files with double the bitrate. But previously this program was run in for two years with the music giant EMI.
According to the NPD Group, iTunes now controls about 66% of the digital music market, another 13% is owned by Amazon MP3. From this state of affairs, it becomes clear that Apple sets standards here, so if anyone talks with recording studios, it’s her.
But difficult times are over, and why labels are worsening the quality of sound before selling today is difficult to understand. Perhaps they are sure that most listeners do not care about this question or they will not feel the difference. Of course, it is not. According to the statistics of musicians who sell files directly (Trent Reznor, Radiohead), the uncompressed format is always in high demand, even if it is sold at a higher price.
Musicians bitterly state the fact that the digital revolution has led to the degradation of sound. Even 30-40 years ago, most people had the opportunity to listen to music in normal quality with vinyl, and now it remains the lot of a narrow layer of audiophiles. The rest of the audience is content with degraded copies in the form of an MP3 or CD.
Apple's perfectionists are extremely annoyed at this and they began negotiations with the studios to change the situation.
')
The problem is that not all electronic devices support 24-bit audio playback. If there are usually no questions with Macintosh computers (they have been “sharpened” for working with sound for decades), then, for example, the iPod and iPhone are not capable of this. Therefore, Apple will have to modify the next versions of its popular gadgets so that they finally learn how to play sound in normal quality. Through iTunes even now you can sell such files.
Apple has already conducted a one-time upgrade of sound quality in the iTunes store. In January 2009, most of the tracks were replaced with similar files with double the bitrate. But previously this program was run in for two years with the music giant EMI.
According to the NPD Group, iTunes now controls about 66% of the digital music market, another 13% is owned by Amazon MP3. From this state of affairs, it becomes clear that Apple sets standards here, so if anyone talks with recording studios, it’s her.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/114332/
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