AIFF to MP3 for Music Production

Keep MP3 out of the session itself. Lossy files inside a project mean the DAW decodes on import and re-encodes on export, and any processing you apply — EQ, compression, limiting — amplifies the codec's artifacts rather than hiding them. MP3 is a delivery format: reference mixes, client sends, demos on a phone.

One trap catches people out: lossy encoding can push peaks slightly above the source, so a mix sitting exactly at 0 dBFS can clip once it becomes a MP3. Leave about -1 dBTP of headroom on the bounce you encode from — standard practice for masters, and it applies to reference files too.

Never send a lossy file to a distributor or streaming platform. They transcode whatever you upload into their own formats, so handing them an already-compressed file stacks a second lossy generation onto what your listeners actually hear. Deliver lossless; convert to lossy for humans.

Expect roughly 7× smaller: AIFF runs about 10 MB per minute, MP3 about 1.4. Because AIFF is uncompressed, this is the ideal encode: the encoder sees the complete original signal, so the MP3 is the cleanest that audio can produce.

Most people meet AIFF through Logic Pro and GarageBand bounces. It is a fine format there; the trouble is that AIFF is uncompressed like WAV, so a four-minute song is 40 MB+ and won't attach to an email. MP3 is the destination because it plays essentially everywhere — downloads and every ordinary phone, browser, and player. AIFF costs you around 10 MB for every minute; MP3 asks for about 1.4. Over a long recording that gap is the whole reason to convert. Because AIFF is uncompressed, encoding to MP3 here is the clean, single-generation case — the encoder sees the whole original signal, so this MP3 is as good as the format gets.