Apple Music Stream Quality vs iTunes purchase

Does anyone know if the streaming of apple music songs is the same quality as what I would purchase if I bought them? I have a good connection but am not sure if I buy the music I like in iTunes I would get any benefit apart from it not being DRM.


Thank you.


Regards,


Mark

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch,Early 2015), macOS Sierra (10.12.1)

Posted on May 22, 2018 7:27 AM

Reply
2 replies

May 22, 2018 8:13 PM in response to markb32

Hey there, Mark!

Thanks for stopping by the Apple Support Communities. From your post, I understand that you would like to know more about the quality of songs available for purchase in the iTunes Store, and I'd be happy to help answer that!

All songs currently available in the iTunes Store are iTunes Plus, which are in the high-quality, DRM free, AAC format. More information on the AAC file format can be found below, taken from iTunes for Mac: Glossary :

AAC

Advanced Audio Coding (also called MPEG-4); a standard way of compressing and encoding digital audio. AAC files can be played using iPod, iPhone, iPad, and apps that support QuickTime.

AAC-encoded files rival the quality of audio CDs, and sound as good as or better than MP3 files encoded at the same or even higher bit rate. For example, a 128 kbps AAC file should sound as good as or better than a 160 kbps MP3 file. Because the bit rate is lower, the AAC file will also be smaller than the MP3 file.

AAC files enable you to store the most music on your hard disk or device. At the High Quality setting, AAC files use approximately 1 MB of disk space per minute.


You can get more information on iTunes Plus here: About iTunes Plus - Apple Support .

Cheers!

May 23, 2018 12:03 AM in response to chris_g1

Hi Chris,


I understand that and thanks for the link too, but really my question is whether the streaming from AppleMusic is equivalent or not as good, does it use the same AAC 256k quality for streaming, only I have ben a bit disappointed by the performance at times. I suppose I am really asking what point is there in buying from iTunes Store if AM is as good (ignoring DRM for now)!


Thanks.


Mark

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Apple Music Stream Quality vs iTunes purchase

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.