Why Open Source Digital Audio Formats Matter: DSD vs. MQA

Simply put, open source is when the source code for a piece of software is free and open to the public. This means that people who use the software are not required to pay a licensing fee because it is not owned by one person or company. DSD (.dsf) is an example of an open source digital audio format, FLAC (.flac) is another.

Jim Collinson at Linn recently wrote a blog post for the company titled “MQA is Bad For Music.” In his piece Collinson asks “Is MQA a ‘revolution in recorded music’ or a massive expansion of corporate power?” and details all of the way the major labels and Meridian are using the format to earn as much revenue as possible at every stage of music production.

The most poignant argument against this is that MQA will hurt artists and consumers by increasing the cost of creating new music as well as the cost of hi-fi gear and recordings. "It's the majors aiming to get paid for old-rope, rather than being rewarded for risks on new music. It acts as a throttle on creative risk taking."

Read the post at https://www.linn.co.uk/blog/mqa-is-bad-for-music, and hear why Jim Collinson believes there is still hope for the future of high resolution music.

You can read more about open source at the Open Source Initiative website.