M4A File Documentation

Overview

Feature Value
Format Name MPEG-4 Audio File
File Extension .m4a
MIME Type audio/mp4
Container for AAC or ALAC audio codecs
Developed by International Organization for Standardization
Standard ISO/IEC 14496-3 (MPEG-4 Part 3)
Compression Lossy (AAC) or Lossless (ALAC)
Audio Bit Depth 16-bit or 24-bit
Audio Sampling Rate Up to 48 kHz (commonly), supports up to 96 kHz
Channels Stereo or Mono, supports up to 8 channels for surround sound
Metadata Support Yes (ID3 tags for title, artist, album, etc.)
Copy Protection Optional DRM (Digital Rights Management)
Typical Usage Music, Podcasts, Audiobooks
Advantages High quality audio; more efficient than MP3
Disadvantages Not as universally compatible as MP3
File Size Comparison Smaller than WAV; higher or similar to MP3 (varies with codec and bitrate)
Streaming Supported (with suitable encoding)
File Editability Non-destructive editing possible with suitable software
Multi-channel Audio Support Yes
Accessibility High (supported by most modern devices and players)
Primary Use Case Music file format delivering high-fidelity audio within smaller file sizes