Developer stores music piece on paper
A software engineer wanted to know if he could save a song on a QR tag. A single tag is not enough, but with several on one sheet, it works.
In the end, there really is a piece of paper on which a song is stored. The song itself, not a link to it. The paper can be photographed with a smartphone and played without an internet connection. This is impressive – Arpan Mondal, who runs the Youtube channel Makestreme, has stored a song on eight QR codes. However, compromises were necessary at every turn.
QR tags have very little storage space
The example song is only a little over a minute long and in mono. In MP3 format, it requires 2.9 MB of storage space. MP3 is already very economical compared to uncompressed formats like WAV – but the amount of data is far too large to fit on a QR code. The QR code on Swiss invoices stores a maximum of 997 characters, or 1 KB. The already compressed MP3 file would have to be 3000 times smaller.
Larger QR codes can store more data. The largest currently holds approximately 3.3 KB – so the song would "only" have to be compressed by a factor of 1000. Still sounds absolutely impossible.
Extremely small data volumes thanks to AI code
Meta AI has developed the audio codec EnCodec, which requires extremely little space. In mono, depending on the quality, the files require between 1.5 and 12 kbit/s. For comparison: MP3 for a single track (mono) ranges between 64 and 160 kbit/s.
The compression is considerable. However, the amount of data is still too large for a QR code. The lowest quality also sounds so terrible that Arpan, despite the ambitious goal, opted for the second lowest. Even that still sounds pretty bad. From minute 5:39 in the video, you can judge the sound quality for yourself.
EnCodec works fundamentally differently from conventional codecs. It therefore cannot be played by a regular audio player. It requires – drum roll – an AI. This reconstructs the song from the stored data in real time. It requires little storage, but all the more computing power.
Eight QR tags on a piece of paper
With EnCodec and poor sound quality, Arpan manages to drastically reduce the amount of data. But even for a large QR tag, the files are still too large. He experimented with QR tags that use color instead of the usual black and white. But because of the small size of the pixels, a smartphone cannot scan the tag in such a way that everything is reliably recognized.
The solution in the end: a piece of paper with four QR tags on the front and four on the back. These together store 21 KB, which is enough for the short song. For longer songs in stereo and acceptable quality, a much more efficient codec would be needed.
My interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
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