Soon, the quality of that Lady Gaga single you downloaded could be kicked up a notch, as Apple and other digital music sellers are reportedly in talks with record labels to improve song file quality.
Apple et al could soon be hawking songs that sound a whole lot more like the original studio recordings than the versions currently available on services like iTunes (likely, of course, they will cost more as well), according to CNN.
CNN quotes Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Universal Music Group’s Interscope-Geffen-A&M record label, as saying, “We’ve gone back now at Universal, and we’re changing our pipes to 24 bit. And Apple has been great… We’re working with them and other digital services — download services — to change to 24 bit. And some of their electronic devices are going to be changed as well. So we have a long road ahead of us.”
Which means that we won’t see this possible alteration fully realized until future versions of the iPhone and devices like the iPod are released (many current devices don’t support 24-bit audio). At this point, all details pertaining to these devices are decidedly murky, with folks speculating that the iPhone 5 will land in September, and rumors about the purported iPhone nano running amok.
What do you think of this proposed development? Will consumers really notice the enhanced sound quality — will they even care (the popularity of services like Grooveshark indicates not)? Would you pay for better-sounding tunes?
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