iTunes Radio could be the solution to "loudness wars" ruining recorded music

You've undoubtedly heard a member of the older generation complaining that the music you buy today just doesn't sound as good as it did way back when. They could be referring to newfangled genres such as dubstep, but they could also be referring to the audio quality as well. The sound quality of new music (regardless of whether you've bought the mp3, CD or vinyl version) is not up to snuff with the glory days of recorded music. This is because of "the loudness wars."

The phrase refers to the trend in music that's been happening for more than 25 years now, where producers limit the range of volume on a recording while maximizing the volume. So now when Korn goes from a heavy-hitting riff to Jonathan Davis creepily whispering lyrics, the volume difference isn't all that different. Listeners are the problem of course, as people tend to like their music louder than more dynamic. Just sit next to anyone with iPod earbuds on a subway train. Driving up volume also leads to clipping and other factors that hurt the music.

So what's the solution?

Bob Katz, a mastering engineer, told the Audio Engineering Society Convention that iTunes Radio may have found a way to reverse the trend.

iTunes Radio features a function called "Sound Check," an algorithm that regulates volume output levels to prevent volume peaks from going off the charts and ruining your music. The best part is that the function can't be turned off. Katz measured volume level outputs over a number of iTunes Radio stations and concluded that the formula had a significant effect.

How does this effect the music industry? Producers will be forced to take iTunes Radio into consideration when mastering a song. Sure, they could still produce a louder-than-hell track, but the service will automatically alter it, possibly resulting an even worse playback on the service. Apple's radio programs might not seem like that influential a force right now, but it already has a third the users as Pandora in less than a month of use. Katz hopes that as the service grows, it will urge performers and producers to turn it down.