Apple Digital Masters (aka Mastered for iTunes / MfiT)

These two terms refer to essentially the same thing.  The Mastered for iTunes (MfiT) program was launched long before Apple Music existed.  When the streaming service launched, Apple chose not to display MfiT badges on Apple Music so it remained exclusively a marketing feature for the iTunes download store.  In 2019 Apple changed this policy and re-branded the program as Apple Digital Masters so that the “badge” could be displayed across both services.

Products which display the ADM “badge” are delivered to the customer in exactly the same audio format as any other Apple download or stream (256kbps AAC).  However, the badge indicates that the source audio supplied to Apple was a 24-bit file and that it was mastered by an Apple-approved mastering house.  It verifies that the audio meets certain technical requirements which ensure it is optimised for Apple’s encoders.  From a marketing point of view the badge also helps to mark a release out as a special product and may increase its appeal to customers.

You can read more about the program on the Apple website.

Every digital release you distribute through Kudos should be supplied to us with professionally mastered audio – but if you would like your release to have the ADM badge applied on Apple services, you will need to check that your mastering engineer is able to offer this service.  There is usually an extra charge for ADM masters and these will generally be supplied in addition to CD masters and any other format-specific versions you require.

The tools and information required to make an ADM-compliant 24-bit master are freely available on Apple’s website so anyone with the technical knowhow can use these to optimise their audio for the iTunes encoding process if they wish.  However, only products which have been mastered by Apple-approved engineers are eligible to have the badge applied on the store.

You can set up and submit an ADM product in the label portal exactly as you would any other release.  You simply need to select your ADM audio files when you upload the audio.  These will be a set of 24-bit files supplied separately from your 16-bit CD-quality masters.  Every Kudos release is delivered to Apple in full-resolution so your ADM audio is supplied automatically.

In order for the badge to be applied an application has to be made to iTunes with the details of the mastering house, the engineers name and their email address.  You should supply this information by email to your label account manager as soon as possible after you have completed your release on the portal.  Once submitted, Apple will verify these details against their database and test that the supplied audio meets the technical requirements before enabling the badge.

Important Note:
The product must have been delivered before the ADM badge application can be made and the request may take 8 weeks or more to be processed.  Therefore, to stand the best chance of the badge being displayed on the release date you will need to allow enough lead time.