 | |
| Launch date | March 2008 |
|---|---|
| Platform(s) | Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows |
| Pricing model | $17–$30 (typical album), individual tracks available in some cases |
| Website | hdtracks |
HDtracks is a high-resolution digital music store offering DRM-free music in multiple formats as well as cover art (and liner notes via PDF file downloads for a majority of catalog offerings) with Audio CD-quality and high-definition audio master recording quality download selections. [1]
The company was privately founded by David and Norman Chesky of the audiophile recording company Chesky Records, and is based in New York, NY. [2] The service was launched on March 21, 2008, initially offering only CD-quality 44.1 kHz audio files in AIFF format from a small offering of independent record labels, including audiophile record company catalogs from Chesky Records, Reference Recordings, 2L, and blues labels like Alligator Records. [3] Shortly after its initial launch, HDtracks began offering higher sample- and bit-rate recordings such as 96 kHz/24bit, 192 kHz/24bit and other higher resolution than CD sound files with a focus on jazz, classical music, soft rock, and historic recordings targeting adult consumers looking for an alternative to lesser-quality compressed mp3 files.
High fidelity is a term used by listeners, audiophiles, and home audio enthusiasts to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound. This is in contrast to the lower quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment, AM radio, or the inferior quality of sound reproduction that can be heard in recordings made until the late 1940s.
Super Audio CD (SACD) is a read-only optical disc format for audio storage, introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics, and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format.
An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce the sound of a live musical performance, typically in a room with good acoustics. It is widely agreed that reaching this goal is very difficult and that even the best-regarded recording and playback systems rarely, if ever, achieve it.
Direct Stream Digital (DSD) is a trademark used by Sony and Philips for their system for digitally encoding audio signals for the Super Audio CD (SACD).
eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. In exchange for a monthly subscription eMusic users can download a fixed number of MP3 tracks per month. eMusic was established in 1998, is headquartered in New York City with an office in London, and is owned by TriPlay.
Wilson Audio Specialties Inc. is an American high-end audio loudspeaker manufacturing company, located in Provo, Utah. Wilson Audio was co-founded by the late David A. Wilson (1944–2018) with his wife Sheryl Lee Wilson in 1974. Until his death, David Wilson was Wilson Audio's Chairman of the Board and Sheryl Lee Wilson served as Vice Chair.
Chesky Records is a record company and label founded in 1978 by brothers David and Norman Chesky. The company produces high-definition recordings of music in a variety of genres, including jazz, classical, pop, R&B, folk and world/ethnic. Chesky artists include McCoy Tyner, Herbie Mann, David Johansen and the Harry Smiths, Joe Henderson, Macy Gray, Chuck Mangione, Paquito D'Rivera, Ron Carter, Larry Coryell, John Pizzarelli, Bucky Pizzarelli, Babatunde Olatunji, Ana Caram, and Rebecca Pidgeon.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Song Book is a 1956 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, with a studio orchestra conducted and arranged by Buddy Bregman, focusing on the songs written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
OnClassical is an Italian independent record label. It features classical music mostly for single instrument or chamber ensemble.
Digital music stores sell copies of digital audio, for example in MP3 and WAV file formats. Unlike music streaming services, which typically charge a monthly subscription fee to stream digital audio, online music stores download songs to the customer's hard disk drive of their device. The customer will have the copy of the song permanently on their disk, provided the track is not deleted by the customer, the disk does not get physically damaged, or suffers from being corrupted. Major examples of online music stores include iTunes Store, Amazon Music, Bandcamp and 7digital.
Amazon Music is a music streaming platform and online music store operated by Amazon. Launched in public beta on September 25, 2007, in January 2008 it became the first music store to sell music without digital rights management (DRM) from the four major music labels, as well as many independents. All tracks were originally sold in 256 kilobits-per-second variable bitrate MP3 format without per-customer watermarking or DRM; however, some tracks are now watermarked. Licensing agreements with recording companies restrict the countries in which the music can be sold.
7digital Group Plc is a British publicly listed company that offers access to music, tracking and reporting for clients. London-based, 7digital provides end-to-end music services for the fitness, social media, DSPs, and gaming industries with brands such as Barry's and Triller. Previously, Advertising Age described 7digital in 2008 as a "British download store." During the 2010s, the New York Times referred to them as "a digital music company in Britain." 7digital's Smooth Operations, Unique Production and Above The Title companies are now branded 7digital Creative, and produce content for BBC Radio 1, Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 3. In 2009 HMV bought 50% of 7digital. In 2019, the company replaced their second CEO, Simon Cole, who had replaced founder/CEO Ben Drury.
Acoustic Sounds, Inc. is a mail-order business specializing in the sale of audiophile vinyl LPs, Direct Stream Digital/PCM downloads (SuperHiRez.com), SACDs, Reel-To-Reel album reissues, DVD-Audios, high-quality CDs and high-end stereo equipment. Located in Salina, Kansas, United States. The business is owned and operated by Chad Kassem and as of 2016 employed 98 people.
Pono was a portable digital media player and music download service for high-resolution audio. It was developed by musician Neil Young and his company PonoMusic, which raised money for development and initial production through a crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter. Production and shipments to backers started in October 2014, and shipments to the general public began in the first quarter of 2015.
David Chesky is an American pianist, composer, producer, arranger, and co-founder of the independent, audiophile label Chesky Records. He is also co-founder and CEO of HDtracks, an online music store that sells high-resolution digital music.
Qobuz is a French commercial music streaming and downloading service. It was founded in 2007 by Yves Riesel, expanded to a limited range of overseas markets, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain, and launched in the US in May 2019. It offers a tiered subscription service and, like its competitor Tidal, provides free-of-charge streaming only for a trial period.
High-resolution audio is a term for audio files with greater than 44.1 kHz sample rate or higher than 16-bit audio bit depth. It commonly refers to 96 or 192 kHz sample rates. However, there also exist 44.1 kHz/24-bit, 48 kHz/24-bit and 88.2 kHz/24-bit recordings that are labeled HD Audio.
Norman Chesky is a music entrepreneur and executive producer of two Grammy award winning albums. He is the co-founder and co-owner of Manhattan Production Music and Chesky Records. Chesky also co-founded HDtracks, a music download service. He was a Trustee of the Recording Academy and is a co-founding member of the Production Music Association (PMA).
PonoPlayer is a portable music player created by Neil Young's company, PonoMusic, as the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) is an audio codec using lossy compression and a form of file fingerprinting, intended for high fidelity digital audio streaming media and music download. Launched in 2014 by Meridian Audio, it is now owned and licensed by MQA Ltd, which was founded by Bob Stuart, co-founder of Meridian Audio.
