Apple offers a variety of audio formats and quality standards that they indicate to listeners by applying various badges to releases. Let's take a look at what each badge means and how you can qualify your music for Apple's listening features and standards.

Lossless Audio

All releases with a lossless codec sent to Apple will feature Lossless Audio playback and a Lossless badge. To get this badge, upload a lossless audio file format to DistroKid when submitting your music. Supported formats include FLAC, ALAC, WAV, and AIFF.

The Lossless Audio badge on Apple Music indicates that you are listening to an effectively uncompressed audio file that delivers the full fidelity of the original recording exactly as the artist, mixing engineers, and mastering engineers intended. 

Hi-Res Lossless

Hi-Res Lossless audio is like Lossless audio playback in Apple, but at an even higher resolution. This badge lets listeners know that the audio file they are hearing is at least 24-bit and has a sample rate higher than 48 kHz.

All releases sent to Apple with a lossless codec are automatically enabled for Lossless Audio playback and receive the Lossless badge. To achieve the "Hi-Res" label, simply upload a high-resolution lossless audio file to DistroKid. A "Hi-Res" file must be at least 24-bit and have a sample rate above 48 kHz. You can use the same lossless audio formats: FLAC, ALAC, WAV, or AIFF.

Dolby Atmos

In order to get the Dolby Atmos badge in Apple, you first have to upload a compatible Dolby Atmos mix for your music. You can learn how to create a Dolby Atmos mix of your music here: https://support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/4405783945363.

Dolby Atmos is an audio playback format that creates a three-dimensional, immersive sound experience. You can read more about Dolby Atmos here:  https://support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/4403029574675.

Once you have a Dolby Atmos mix, it's easy to upload your Dolby Atmos content to DistroKid. Artists can add a Dolby Atmos version of their mix per track for $26.99 each – it will be available on streaming services that offer spatial audio playback, including Apple Music and Tidal. Just make sure to select "Yes" under the "Dolby Atmos / Spatial audio" section of the upload form.

Apple Digital Masters

To get an Apple Digital Master badge for your music in Apple, you must submit a verified Apple Digital Master file for your music through DistroKid.

You can learn more about it here:  https://support.distrokid.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013534534