The WMA (Windows Media Audio) format is a proprietary audio compression format developed by Microsoft. WMA files use various compression algorithms, including lossy and lossless methods, to achieve efficient audio compression with different quality settings. WMA is often associated with the Windows Media Player and is commonly used for streaming audio, online music services, and digital media playback on Windows-based devices. While not as universally supported as some other formats, WMA remains prevalent in the Windows ecosystem and offers a good balance between audio quality and file size.