Encode selected audio files - practical use

This somewhat mysterious function available with a right click with files selected in Finder supports creating .m4a files from .wav files. While iTunes can play .wav, .wav files do not support storage of metadata, including album art. Moreover, other applications useful with your music collection may not be able to access .wav files. For instance, Sonos cannot.

I downloaded an album purchased online in the form of .wav files (all that was available). Neither Sonos nor Tunebox (another application I use to be able to play my files in my home without storing them on my phone) could access them. I couldn't burn the files to CD as an album, because the set was too large. Converting to .m4a allowed me to include them in iTunes. They ended up in Unknown Artist, because the .wav files have no metadata. After tracking these down and editing the metadata (artist, title, track #) and adding album art, I could then access them via Sonos and Tunebox, as well as iTunes.

This really belongs as an explanatory comment on another thread, which was unfortunately impossible as the community server had closed that thread due to lack of activity.