Digital audio refers to technology that records, stores, and reproduces sound by encoding an audio signal in digital form instead of analog form. Digital audio systems may include compression, storage, processing, and transmission components. The current digital audio technologies and the present uses of digital music have grown immensely. With a trade value of 4.6 billion dollars, the worldwide digital music market is transforming the way society listens to their music. From 2004 to 2010, there was a 1000% increase in the value of the digital music market. This number continues to increase with new ways of purchasing digital audio through digital stores like iTunes and from purchasing playlist premium services such as Pandora’s premium options. Pirating has greatly hindered the economic growth of digital music, while free playlists have slowed the economic development of digital audio as well. The challenge of the music industry is finding how to harness the enthusiasm of social media and digital music to lead to song and album purchases rather than illegal downloads.

Source: www.wikipedia.org