For anybody growing up in the mid-90s or the early 2000s, MP3 was the go-to music format. But all good things must end, only to be replaced by something better. For MP3s, that day has dawned with the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) arriving on the scene.
AAC, which was popularised by Apple’s iTunes, is now in use across platforms and devices like YouTube, VLC, Google Play, Nokia and Windows. And though AAC has big boots to fill, the industry feels it is more than up to the task.
So, what’s the scene with MP3 now, and what do we know about AAC?
So Long, MP3
The MP3 format’s fall from grace was made official when the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, the globally recognised authority on music standards, terminated licensing for varied MP3-related patents.
This was basically done after industry-wide acceptance of AAC as a better audio codec experience. And so, it was RIP, MP3.
The MP3 will be remembered for its quality on CD players and PCs. But in the age of mobile phones and online streaming – where the AAC is the file format of choice – that’s all in the past.
The MP3 format, thanks to its various strengths, had caused a flurry in the digital piracy space. Music hosting platforms like Napster were born because of MP3’s existence and its ability to let users download songs with a single click.
But the wide use of MP3s for audio piracy ultimately led to its decline, by bringing to the forefront formats like AAC that are no good for piracy. (That’s because AAC’s codec cannot be tampered with.)
What’s AAC?
Like MP3, AAC is a format used to store audio files. However, it is more flexible than its once-popular predecessor. AAC can store large, high-quality files in less space than MP3. This makes AAC the preferred format for online music streaming platforms.
Online music streaming has caught up with internet users across the globe, now that affordable prices have made platforms like Google Play and Apple Music accessible to all. And this has only helped the unchallenged rise of AAC.
AAC ensures that streaming music on the internet will never lose its quality (regardless of the quality of your internet connection) and ensure lower memory use on your devices.
In the coming weeks, we’ll try out both MP3 and AAC format music and give you a detailed comparison between the past and future of music standards.
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