Support›Listening and audio quality Audio quality and lossless listening
High-quality listening is included for everyone. Ad-Free, track purchases, and artist memberships also unlock lossless playback for eligible tracks.What each quality means
AAC 256 kbps: AAC at 256 kbps, created from the uploaded lossless source. Video uploads also use extracted AAC audio.Lossless audio: FLAC or a lossless WAV/AIFF source. The original recording determines the available resolution.Original file: A lossy upload, such as MP3 or AAC, played as uploaded without another lossy conversion.High quality is included without a paid listening subscription. A 128 kbps AAC highlight preview is a separate preview file, not the quality of ordinary full-track listening.Who can listen in lossless
Ad-Free subscriber: Every track you are allowed to play, when a lossless source is available.Track buyer: The track you purchased, when a lossless source is available.Artist membership: Playable tracks from that artist, including public tracks, while your paid membership is active.Artist page manager: Tracks you manage, when a lossless source is available.A track purchase or artist membership does not remove audio ads. Ad-Free does not open private or membership-only tracks: those still require their own access.Ad-Free and lossless listeningBuying and selling musicChoosing a quality
Open the expanded player and press the format label to the left of device selection. Playback starts in the best format available for the track and your access. AAC 256 kbps selects that stream. For lossy uploads, Original file · no re-encoding plays the uploaded file instead. Lossless audio prefers lossless and uses the available stream for other tracks.The label always shows the audio actually being delivered. Lossless selection is unavailable when the current track lacks a lossless source or you do not have access. Changing quality keeps your listening position and paused or playing state; a short loading pause may occur.The control applies to playback on this device. When another device owns playback, change quality on that device.When signed in, your selection is saved to your account. Other devices load it when you sign in, and refresh it when you return to the web tab or reopen the app. Changes made on another device apply to the next playback. Guests keep their selection on the device.Source quality matters
Converting an MP3 into FLAC cannot recover information that was already removed. Lossy uploads are played as uploaded and are not labeled lossless.For artists, upload a genuine WAV, AIFF, or FLAC master to provide lossless listening. Sample rate and bit depth depend on the uploaded recording; lossless does not automatically mean high-resolution audio. A newly uploaded track may need to finish audio processing before high-quality playback is available.Mobile data and playback equipment
Lossless files usually use more mobile data and may take longer to load. Choose AAC 256 kbps when you want to reduce data use. The player does not automatically change your setting based on Wi-Fi or mobile data.The lossless label describes the file delivered by fromband. Your device and audio connection determine what reaches your headphones; a wireless connection may apply its own compression.Streaming and downloads
Lossless streaming and downloading the original file are separate features. Ad-Free and artist membership do not include downloads by themselves. A kept purchase or an artist-enabled free download provides the uploaded original file, which may itself be a lossy format.Music sharing and reuse