If this is the case, it would be very useful to have the mp3 encoding as part of JUCE. It occurred to me to post this here in case anyone hasn't heard it; the MP3 licensing program no longer exists, thanks to the fact that the MP3 patents are due to expire. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the unlicensed use of MP3 files in games. Marco Arment, developer of the podcast application Overcast, makes a good defense of MP3 in a blog post about the inaccuracy of the version given by the media to the archive.
Sure, MP3 isn't what it used to be, an inescapable and omnipresent part of the digital music landscape, but it's not going anywhere either. YouTube has many videos that attempt to audibly illustrate the difference between the sound quality of an MP3 file and that of an AAC, but the important thing is that AAC files are generally thought to sound better at lower compression rates or bit rates. The expiry of Fraunhofer's patents means that, starting in April, the MP3 will no longer be subject to the large number of coding licenses that hampered its development since the first patent was filed in 1987. In any case, the absence of license fees for the use of the MP3 format could encourage developers and manufacturers to include more MP3-related functions. While it is true that MP3 as a format has since been surpassed by other formats such as AAC and Vorbis, the unparalleled popularity of MP3 means that it will not get anywhere yet. In addition to the main mp3 patents included in the licensing program, there may still be some implementation-specific patents (or patents for other functional improvements) that have not expired.
The iTunes EULA doesn't mention MP3, so presumably its restrictions are based on the MP3 license link. Compared to a standard MP3 file, an AAC file sounds sharper and takes up less space on your computer.
