A report earlier this week suggested Apple was planning to overhaul its iTunes Music store to reverse a decline in music downloads. A new report from a music-oriented blog suggests Apple also may add HD music downloads to the online music service. Music blogger Robert Hutton claims Apple may improve the quality of iTunes music tracks by serving up lossless 24-bit audio files. Apple may announce this new feature in June, possibly even at WWDC. For several years, Apple have been insisting that labels provide files for iTunes in 24 bit format – preferably 96k or 192k sampling rate. So they have undeniably the biggest catalog of hi-res audio in the world. And the Led Zeppelin remasters in high resolution will be the kick off event – to coincide with Led Zep in hi-res, Apple will flip the switch and launch their hi-res store via iTunes – and apparently, it will be priced a buck above the typical current file prices. That’s right – Apple will launch hi-res iTunes in two months. Apple currently offers 16-bit audio files, but has been encouraging artists for years to submit music in 24-bit 96kHz resolution as part of the company’s Mastered for iTunes program. These 24-bit masters are then used to create more realistic encodes at 16-bit resolution. Though there is no official confirmation Apple plans to release 24-bit files, it’s a plausible idea as the company likely has a large existing library of high-quality music submitted by artists participating in the Mastered for iTunes program. Apple could then charge customers an extra $1 per track to download a 24-bit HD version instead of the regular priced, normal quality tracks. Would you pay extra for a 24-bit version of your favorite music? Let us know in the comments. [Via MacRumors] Continue reading
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