I still buy digital media, but only if it’s in a format that I can download and keep locally, such as when I buy albums these days, I make sure to buy the MP3 versions so that I can download them to my machine and keep them.
Anything that’s accessed through some sort of app and won’t allow me to download it is an immediate no.
I listen mostly to progressive metal, which is kinda niche, and I’ve found pretty much anything I went looking for.
Not sure about indie acts in general. Try browsing their download store - my only gripe with them is that the UI is pretty bad. The service is solid, though.
Also, seeing as they are DRM-free downloads, you could use Qobuz as a supplement to bandcamp for bands that are not on bandcamp, or vice versa :)
It’s lossless while still low-ish file size. You probably won’t notice if you get a high bitrate mp3 but there will still be compression and quality loss. For example when I bought a song in flac I was able to hear some more subtle background instruments that were too muddy to make out before.
Quick guide:
MP3 is like jpeg. Supported everywhere, good enough, tiny file size.
WAV is like bmp. Windows made, gigantic file size, original quality. Supported almost everywhere.
FLAC doesn’t really have a good image comparison. But it’s open licence, half the file size of wav, original quality. The only downside is it doesn’t have widespread support. It plays fine in almost every dedicated media player like VLC or Evermusic; but if you try to do something like upload it to Discord or play it on the default iPhone music app it won’t work.
Yeah you’re right; PNG is a good example, but it’s got ubiquitous support in comparison to .flac, so I wasn’t sure if it was a perfect fit.
Ogg is actually an interesting one. It’s a container not a codec. This is kind of getting into the weeds here, so I hope it’s not TMI. It can contain multiple video and audio streams including flac data inside it. Kind of like mp4 container files in that way.
However, most people usually mean “ogg vorbis” or “ogg opus” when they say ogg, which are lossy formats. It’s very comparable to mp3, but higher quality and generally better than mp3. You still sacrifice some compatibility though. Opus’ main strength is that it’s open licence and very low latency and medium-high quality. Ideal for streaming, video games, and music performances. Vorbis is just the older version of Opus, so it’s a bit worse but more widely supported.
Aac is another popular codec, you’ll see it commonly in m4a files from iTunes. It’s again lossy, but higher quality than mp3. Extremely good support, almost as good as mp3.
You might also find ALAC from iTunes which is Apple’s own lossless thing, basically only runs on Apple devices with some limited support outside the ecosystem.
In my humble opinion, mp3 is actually the worst codec for a personal music library, unless compatibility is your #1 priority. Most websites you buy music from let you choose other formats as well, like Bandcamp. Apple music does not, but their files always have a very high bitrate so it’s ok. I always recommend flac if you can get it / run it, then wav, then ogg opus/vorbis, then aac, and finally high bitrate mp3. Low bitrate mp3 is a last resort 😂
Those are the main ones you’re likely to encounter, unless I’m forgetting something. If you’re interested in reading more, there’s a good comparison on Wikipedia between different audio formats.
I’m not an “audiophile”, but I do video and audio editing stuff as a hobby and some musician stuff too, so I probably notice these things more than others. It might be a fun idea if you’re keen to download ffmpeg or Audacity and just mess around with different codecs and bitrates to experience the differences first hand.
Not TMI at all! This was super interesting! I did video editing for a while, and always converted to WAV before importing into Final Cut or Adobe Premiere, but that was more because MP3 files always lagged and (with AP) caused crashes sometimes. Yes, this was years ago. I will stick to FLAC!
I still buy digital media, but only if it’s in a format that I can download and keep locally, such as when I buy albums these days, I make sure to buy the MP3 versions so that I can download them to my machine and keep them.
Anything that’s accessed through some sort of app and won’t allow me to download it is an immediate no.
Shout out to Qobuz, I started my digital collection there. They sell DRM-free downloads in FLAC format (when available, otherwise MP3)
I haven’t tried that site yet… how is the selection of artists? Mainstream or not?
I’m on bandcamp and get most of everything there but it does tend to be indie acts.
I listen mostly to progressive metal, which is kinda niche, and I’ve found pretty much anything I went looking for. Not sure about indie acts in general. Try browsing their download store - my only gripe with them is that the UI is pretty bad. The service is solid, though.
Also, seeing as they are DRM-free downloads, you could use Qobuz as a supplement to bandcamp for bands that are not on bandcamp, or vice versa :)
.flac is the way
Why flac? I mean, what benefits over, say, mp3?
It’s lossless while still low-ish file size. You probably won’t notice if you get a high bitrate mp3 but there will still be compression and quality loss. For example when I bought a song in flac I was able to hear some more subtle background instruments that were too muddy to make out before.
Quick guide:
Sticking with the image format examples, like PNG maybe? Anyway. Great comparison and super helpful! Is it better than OGG, or about the same?
Yeah you’re right; PNG is a good example, but it’s got ubiquitous support in comparison to .flac, so I wasn’t sure if it was a perfect fit.
Ogg is actually an interesting one. It’s a container not a codec. This is kind of getting into the weeds here, so I hope it’s not TMI. It can contain multiple video and audio streams including flac data inside it. Kind of like mp4 container files in that way.
However, most people usually mean “ogg vorbis” or “ogg opus” when they say ogg, which are lossy formats. It’s very comparable to mp3, but higher quality and generally better than mp3. You still sacrifice some compatibility though. Opus’ main strength is that it’s open licence and very low latency and medium-high quality. Ideal for streaming, video games, and music performances. Vorbis is just the older version of Opus, so it’s a bit worse but more widely supported.
Aac is another popular codec, you’ll see it commonly in m4a files from iTunes. It’s again lossy, but higher quality than mp3. Extremely good support, almost as good as mp3.
You might also find ALAC from iTunes which is Apple’s own lossless thing, basically only runs on Apple devices with some limited support outside the ecosystem.
In my humble opinion, mp3 is actually the worst codec for a personal music library, unless compatibility is your #1 priority. Most websites you buy music from let you choose other formats as well, like Bandcamp. Apple music does not, but their files always have a very high bitrate so it’s ok. I always recommend flac if you can get it / run it, then wav, then ogg opus/vorbis, then aac, and finally high bitrate mp3. Low bitrate mp3 is a last resort 😂
Those are the main ones you’re likely to encounter, unless I’m forgetting something. If you’re interested in reading more, there’s a good comparison on Wikipedia between different audio formats.
I’m not an “audiophile”, but I do video and audio editing stuff as a hobby and some musician stuff too, so I probably notice these things more than others. It might be a fun idea if you’re keen to download ffmpeg or Audacity and just mess around with different codecs and bitrates to experience the differences first hand.
Not TMI at all! This was super interesting! I did video editing for a while, and always converted to WAV before importing into Final Cut or Adobe Premiere, but that was more because MP3 files always lagged and (with AP) caused crashes sometimes. Yes, this was years ago. I will stick to FLAC!