Editing Timeline of audio formats (section)

{{Short description|List of audio formats}}

An '''audio format''' is a medium for [[sound recording and reproduction]]. The term is applied to both the physical [[recording media]] and the [[recording format]]s of the [[audio frequency|audio content]]—in [[computer science]] it is often limited to the [[audio file format]], but its wider use usually refers to the physical method used to store the data. Note on the use of analog compared to digital in this list; the definition of digital used here for early formats is that which is represented using discrete values rather than fluctuating variables. A piano roll is digital as it has discrete values, that being a hole for each key, unlike a phonograph record which is analog with a fluctuating groove. 

Music is recorded and distributed using a variety of audio formats, some of which store additional information.