This subject is pretty controversial among the radio industry, and some people still believe that MP3 is better than LOSSLESS codecs like WAV, and FLAC. But let me tell you, it IS NOT… and here’s why.
Back in the day, when computers were connected to internet via dial-up, and had tiny hard drives, the preferred and most widely known and supported codec was MP3… A lossy codec developed FOR CONSUMERS. Some radio stations that switched to PC based automation used a higher quality lossy codec, MP2, meant more for professionals at that time. At the time, these codecs were good enough for most stations because they took up the least of limited hard drive space, but the quality wasn’t there.
But some people didn’t settle for lossy during the early days of computers. I talked with a good friend who currently works at a station on the southside of Atlanta metro and had previously worked in Atlanta at a few different stations like Cox Media Group’s News/Talker WSB (750 AM) as a board op and later was program director at iHeart’s Talk formatted station, WGST (640 AM). Back when he worked at WSB in the early 2000s, he told a story about the AC station in Cox’s cluster, WSB-FM. The program director did not like the sound of the automation system (which at that time, MP3s probably were the source material used, I however, cannot confirm this as a fact), and absolutely refused to switch over to Maestro from CDs because it didn’t “sound as good as his CDs.” Eventually (and mind you this is early 2000s), said PD finally caved, and WSB-FM would soon switch to Maestro… but under the condition that ALL music was to be imported as lossless WAV. This was not an easy task, and I can imagine they probably had to pay some big bucks for a hard drive that would fit all of it, but it was accomplished; and according to my friend, WSB-FM was the best sounding Atlanta station next to Cumulus’ WKHX.
Now advance to today. It’s 2022. Hard drive space is inexpensive compared to about 20 years prior, and most stations have huge TB drives, that are capable of holding way more than you’d ever need. But still, here we are… in 2022, and MP3s are still being used in SOME markets and clusters. And the excuse? “Not enough storage,” or “listeners cannot tell the difference.” Well for one thing, some listeners CAN tell. Even if they can’t put their fingers on what necessarily the issue is. In todays world, with some resorting to platforms like Spotify and Apple Music for their fix of music rather than radio, you’ve GOT to make your station appeal to your listeners EVERY WAY POSSIBLE. If you can hear higher quality music on Spotify and Apple Music than your station… uh, SOMETHING IS WRONG… VERY WRONG! Source material seriously matters, I cannot stress this enough. It matters, A LOT! And processing, despite popular belief, no matter how fancy your processing is, it cannot fix an MP3, in fact processing usually makes MP3 files sound worse. Just remember, “Garbage in, garbage out.”
If you are looking to switch to lossless audio from lossy files, there are plenty of good resources, and the pricing is the similar if not the same as a lossy MP3 or M4A you can get on Amazon or iTunes. For radio, RadioMusic.com provides lossless content that is edited for radio, and the pricing is comparable to prices of music you’d see on iTunes. PlayMPE, and New Music Server if you have an account provide new music that is lossless and edited for radio stations at no cost. If you know your song is clean, more consumer grade sources like 7digital and Qobuz also provide lossless audio at prices comparable to the prices you’d see on iTunes.
The bottom line? Source material matters. If you put good source material in, you are guaranteed to get a better result on the air. In fact, not only will you hear more depth in the music you play, it might make your station louder, as your processor has more frequencies to work with than it does with MP3. So, if you are still on MP3, it’s definitely time to make the switch to lossless WAV audio. The end result? Great quality that you and your listeners will definitely enjoy!
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