The process of extracting the audio component from YouTube videos and encoding it into the MPEG-4 Audio (.m4a) format enables users to isolate and preserve the sound portion of online video content. As an illustration, one might isolate a song from a music video or an interesting lecture excerpt to access it independently of the visual stream.
This audio extraction and format conversion offers multiple advantages, including reduced file sizes compared to video files, making them more manageable for storage and portable playback on various devices. Its prevalence reflects the desire to curate and listen to specific audio segments from the vast library of content available on video-sharing platforms. Historically, the need arose from technological limitations and the desire for efficient audio consumption in the pre-broadband era.