A File Format is a specific way to encode data that is to be saved as a file. While sound can be stored in many formats, the key differences between these file formats include:

Their ability to compress sound: This decides how much storage space you will require. While a few uncompressed songs won’t slow your hard disk, a full library could be huge

Their ability to maintain the sound quality: Lossy or lossless audio formats is a forever debate. The more you compress your audio files, the lower the audio quality. Compression does save you valuable disk space, but for music aficionados this also means loss of audio details.

Universal or software dependant: While some formats can be played on almost any music software using any music player; some are designed to restrict copying and sharing of the audio. That means they are software dependant, and you cannot listen to them unless you have the software or the player to run that specific file format.

Whichever way you intend to use your audio, here’s a quick guide to some of the common file formats, their strengths and weaknesses:

WAV: Developed by IBM and Microsoft, WAV stands for ‘waveform’. This file format does not compress audio. Understandably, WAV files take up a sizeable chunk of the storage space on your disk! However, this lossless format assures you of CD quality audio that can be used for broadcasting, or distributed through DVDs and CDs. An added advantage is that the WAV format is easy to transform and compress into MP3 or other formats if the need arises. And importantly, it runs on any Windows or Mac systems as well as most web browsers. So, if space crunch is not a problem, consider the WAV format to store and distribute music. File extension .wav.

MP3: Perhaps the most popular sound format for music recording, MP3 files are the sound part of MPEG files. They can compress audio files to about one tenth of their original size while delivering close to CD quality audio. Because of their small file size, MP3 files are quick to download. In fact, they have become the standard when people want music for their multimedia presentations, or are looking for background music in their web pages. However, a major drawback of the MP3 format is that it is not a good format to use for looping. This is because MP3 files contain an unspecified amount of silence at the start and end of the file. To avoid the burp or hiccup this causes, and achieve a usable loop, opt for WAV format. MP3 files are supported by most software systems, and come with the file extension .mp3

RealAudio: This file format was developed to play streaming audio with low bandwidth Internet. Common application includes Internet radio. It is also popular with websites that allow users to listen to on-line music. However, because of low bandwidth, you might experience reduction in audio quality. File extension .rm or .ram

AIFF: Developed by Apple, AIFF is short for Audio Interchange File Format. These files are not supported by all web browsers or all platforms. File extension .aif or .aiff

WMA: Short for Windows Media Audio, this format compares in quality to MP3, and is compatible with most players, except the iPod. Another plus is that it can be delivered as a continuous flow of data, which makes it practical for use in Internet radio or on-line music. File extension .wma

MIDI: Short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, MIDI files are extremely small and are supported by many different softwares and Internet browsers. This flexibility of access allows it to be used in amateur as well as professional music making. File extension .midi However many people do not enjoy listening to the limited amplitude of midi music files.