New Audio Format.

NEIL YOUNG: Taking New Audio Format Seriously

Neil Young wasn't joking earlier this year when he said he wanted to improve the quality of digital music. In June 2011, Young applied for trademarks for terms that that relate to "high-resolution music downloadable from the Internet" -- Ivanhoe, 21st Century Record Player, Earth Storage, Storage Shed, Thanks for Listening and SQS (Studio Quality Sound). Rolling Stone reports that the trademarks are related to Young's mysterious Pono project, which has been billed as "a revolutionary new audio music system presenting the highest digital resolution possible, the studio-quality sound that artists and producers heard when they created their original recordings."

Young will have to go through year's worth of government paperwork to get the terms trademarked.