Audio File Formats Explained: The Producer's Guide
In the world of digital audio, not all files are created equal. As a producer, choosing the wrong audio file formats can lead to lost quality, rejected distribution submissions, or massive hard drive bloat. In this guide, we break down the science of WAV, MP3, FLAC, and AIFF so you always choose the right format for the job.
1. Lossless vs. Lossy: The Great Divide
This is the most important concept in digital audio. It determines whether your music preserves every single bit of data or throws some away to save space.
Lossless Formats (The Gold Standard)
- WAV (Waveform Audio File Format): The industry standard for production. Uncompressed and 100% accurate.
- AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format): Apple's equivalent to WAV. Identical quality, but handles metadata slightly differently.
- FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec): Compressed but lossless. Like a "ZIP" file for audio. Great for archiving.
Lossy Formats (The Consumer Choice)
- MP3: The world's most popular format. It deletes "inaudible" frequencies to shrink file size by 90%.
- AAC: The standard for YouTube and Apple Music. More efficient than MP3 at similar bitrates.
2. Bit Depth and Sample Rate
When working in a DAW, your session settings matter. Most professionals work at 24-bit / 44.1kHz or 48kHz.
- Sample Rate: How many times per second the sound is "captured."
- Bit Depth: The dynamic range and "resolution" of each capture.
3. Which Format Should You Use?
The answer depends on what you are doing:
- Recording/Mixing: Always use WAV (Lossless).
- Sending Demos: High-quality MP3 (320kbps) is fine for email.
- Distribution (Spotify/Apple): You MUST upload high-resolution WAV files.
- Saving Space: Use FLAC to archive old projects.
Summary
Never record or mix in a lossy format like MP3. Always start with the highest possible quality (WAV) and only compress to lossy formats at the very end of the process for distribution or storage.