HTML5 Audio - Audio on the Web

Audio on the Web

Until now, there has not been a standard for playing audio files on a web page.
Today, most audio files are played through a plug-in (like flash). However, different browsers may have different plug-ins.
HTML5 defines a new element which specifies a standard way to embed an audio file on a web page: the <audio> element.

Browser Support

Internet Explorer 9, Firefox, Opera, Chrome, and Safari support the <audio> element.
Note: Internet Explorer 8 and earlier versions, do not support the <audio> element.

HTML5 Audio - How It Works

To play an audio file in HTML5, this is all you need:
Example:
<audio controls="controls">
  <source src="song.ogg" type="audio/ogg" />
  <source src="song.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" />
  Your browser does not support the audio element.
</audio> 
The control attribute adds audio controls, like play, pause, and volume.
You should also insert text content between the <audio> and </audio> tags for browsers that do not support the <audio> element.
The <audio> element allows multiple <source> elements. <source> elements can link to different audio files. The browser will use the first recognized format.

Audio Formats and Browser Support

Currently, there are 3 supported file formats for the <audio> element: MP3, Wav, and Ogg:

Browser	MP3	Wav	Ogg
Internet Explorer 9	YES	NO	NO
Firefox 4.0	NO	YES	YES
Google Chrome 6	YES	YES	YES
Apple Safari 5	YES	YES	NO
Opera 10.6	NO	YES	YES

HTML5 Audio Tags

Tag	Description
<audio>	Defines sound content
<source>	Defines multiple media resources for media elements, such as <video> and <audio>