Neil Young, an outspoken critic of digital recording technology and the MP3 music format in particular, has filed patents for his own high-res audio formats.
The rocker has three patents pending with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: 21st Century Record Player, Earth Storage and Thanks for Listening.
The filing, reports Rolling Stone, includes a description of the technology's applications:
"Online and retail store services featuring music and artistic performances; high resolution music downloadable from the internet; high resolutions discs featuring music and video; audio and video recording storage and playback."
Young has not released a statement, but it is speculated that the technology is meant to reproduce analog sound faithfully in a digital format.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse's latest album, Americana, is due June 5.
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