How To Recreate A Top iTunes Song In 60 Seconds (For Free)

Published 16 August 2017 | 218 words | Categories: Music

An unusual tune has found its way onto the top 50 on the iTunes charts, alongside Ed Sheeran and Keith Urban hits. The song is completely silent. “A a a a a Very Good Song” costs 99 cents for just under 10 minutes of dead air.

Because I did this same thing in early 2007, I know that it's a waste of $1 to buy a 'song' of pure silence. It doesn't take much time or effort to create such a track.

Here's the entire do-it-yourself process:

Download the free audio software Audacity and install it. You can choose other software; I just know Audacity is a quick and simple option.
Open Audacity and check out the menu. Click "Generate" to see options drop down, and choose "Silence." (Screenshot shown above for clarity.)
Choose how many minutes and seconds of silence you want. Then click "ok."
Export the file in WAV, MP3, or any other format you want. (Windows users can press CTRL+SHIFT+E to export the file.)
Load the track into your iTunes library. (I find that drag-and-drop is easiest.)

Congratulations! You're done. You saved a dollar and didn't have to navigate the iTunes store.

Addendum: Some people have pointed out that "silence as a composition" has been done many times. John Cage's 4'33" may be the most popular example.