A new official logo is being rolled out by the music industry to define high-resolution music online.

The new ‘Hi-Res MUSIC’ logo will be used to mark online music that meet the official standards for ‘High Resolution Music’. The new logo will be used on digital music retailers in the US, Canada and Europe on commercial downloads and streaming.

Music that will receive the logo must meet the standard of “lossless audio capable of reproducing the full spectrum of sound from recordings which have been mastered from better than CD quality (48kHz/20-bit or higher) music sources which represent what the artists, producers and engineers originally intended.”

CEO at classical music distributer Naxos of America, Jeff Van Driel, said: “For years, music fans have starved their ears with sub-standard MP3 and compressed downloads and streams. The rewarding experience of listening to High Resolution Music is one that must be made by those who want to truly hear what the artists intended us to hear.”

The new Hi-Res branding is thanks to a cooperation between the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group and The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing. The logo was announced in June and developed by 2B Communications by the request of Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group.

Chief technology officer at RIAA, David Hughes, said: “We are gratified that the Hi-Res MUSIC logo will be used as the standard branding measure of optimal quality music by digital retailers. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that music enthusiasts can more easily identify their highest quality preferences, and this is a key step in that process. We thank those that have adopted the Hi-Res MUSIC logo, and encourage others in this space to follow suit, in order to help consumers enjoy the highest-quality digital recordings possible.”

The list of retailers immediately adopting the new branding for high resolution includes Acoustic Sounds, Super HiRez, Blue Coast Music, ClassicsOnline HD*LL, IsoMike Recordings, ProStudioMasters, HDtracks and PonoMusic. Major and independent record labels will both also be able to use the logo for advertising and promotional materials.