Mastered for iTunes

MASTER’S DEGREE: Mastered for iTunes, an Apple program that makes new mastering software and guidelines available to recording studios to boost sound quality for the AAC file format, was the subject of an informative story posted on rollingstone.com. The program officially began in late February, and since then, iTunes has made 300 such recordings available, including Coldplay's Mylo Zyloto, Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Nirvana's Nevermind. "Every record will improve because of it," said producer/Blue Note President Don Was, which is reissuing its entire catalog according to Apple's new guidelines. "It's great if it's in the hands of mastering engineers, I'll tell you that. Mastered for iTunes has tremendous potential for improving the sound of digital files, but it's incumbent on everybody to live up to the potential of it." Said the legendary Bob Ludwig of Gateway Mastering, who used Mastered for iTunes for Carrie Underwood's Blown Away and recent Soundgarden and Nirvana remasters. "It's all backed with sound science. It all makes sense and sounds better." (6/1a)