VBR with a mininum bit rate != CBR.<p>And, to be clear, the article is making a guess that Amazon or Apple are imposing a minimum bit rate to insure some lower bound on file size. I don&#x27;t think there is really any solid evidence that Amazon or Apple are making decisions based on trying to make file sizes bigger to convince consumers they&#x27;re getting &quot;more value&quot;. I took exception to the premise, which is why I commented above. I don&#x27;t believe Apple and Amazon are making decisions based on trying to increase file sizes, and I find it weird that the article suggest they are. I believe they are trying to maximize audio quality at smaller file sizes. Evidence seems to indicate that is what is happening.<p>And, we&#x27;ve come full circle to the point of my initial comment. I don&#x27;t think the argument he&#x27;s making about maintaining large file sizes is backed by evidence or a particularly good understanding of consumer behavior&#x2F;preference. I do think his guesses about the Netflix algorithm are interesting, but his digression into consumer behavior is less so, IMHO.