From gigabytes to megabytes
Field recorders, DAW exports, meeting captures — anything that writes WAV writes it uncompressed, at roughly 10 MB per minute. That is the right choice while you are editing and exactly the wrong one when you need to send the result. MP3 keeps the sound and drops about 90% of the size.
Batch is the point here: drop a session's worth of takes and collect them all as MP3s. And because a 600 MB file converts locally, there is no upload progress bar to babysit — the work starts the moment you drop it.
Keep the master
MP3 is lossy: at the bitrate used here the difference is inaudible for speech and everyday listening, but detail is discarded and does not come back. Send the MP3, archive the WAV — that is the workflow professionals use.
Frequently asked questions
How much smaller does it get?
Roughly 10× — an hour of stereo WAV at around 600 MB becomes an MP3 in the tens of megabytes, depending on the source.
Will I hear the difference?
For speech, podcasts and casual music listening — no. For critical mixing or archival, keep the WAV as your master and treat the MP3 as the delivery copy.
Should I delete the WAV afterwards?
Not if the recording matters. MP3 is for sharing; the WAV is the only version that contains everything.