WAV, FLAC or MP3: which format to get when you buy a beat

When you buy a beat, one of the first decisions is the format: MP3, WAV, trackouts… and sometimes FLAC comes up. Here's what each one is and which to ask for depending on what you're going to do.

Lossy and lossless

WAV (and AIFF): uncompressed audio. The standard working format in the studio, and one every DAW imports.
FLAC: lossless compression (Free Lossless Audio Codec). It takes up considerably less space than a WAV and, when decoded, returns exactly the same data. Like a ZIP designed for audio.
MP3 (and AAC): lossy compression. It discards information that a perceptual model considers less audible. At high bitrates it can sound very good, but what's discarded can't be recovered, and every re-encode degrades it a little more.

What to ask for depending on what you'll do

Writing, rehearsing or recording a demo: an MP3 is handy and enough.
Recording and releasing: WAV at minimum. It's what whoever mixes your track should receive.
Professional mix: the separate tracks (stems or trackouts) as WAV. They let the beat be shaped around your vocal (see how to choose a beat licence).

What about FLAC?

FLAC has the same quality as WAV, so it's a good option for archiving or sending heavy audio while saving space. But for working on a project, WAV is still the standard: not every program or workflow handles FLAC equally well. If someone sends you a FLAC, you can convert it to WAV without losing anything. What makes no sense is converting an MP3 to WAV or FLAC hoping to get quality back: what's lost doesn't return.

Technical details worth checking

Bit depth and sample rate: 24-bit and the project's sample rate (usually 44.1 or 48 kHz).
Level: almost all my beats are delivered with headroom, peaks around −6 dBFS, so the vocal has room. I explain why in the loudness war.
What your licence includes: the exact formats for each licence are in the player in my store. That's the reference.