When working with audio files, it is often necessary to edit the metadata associated with them. In the case of WAV files, which are a popular format for storing uncompressed audio, there are several ways to accomplish this task using Python.

Option 1: Using the wave module

The wave module in Python provides a convenient way to read and write WAV files. To edit the metadata of a WAV file using this module, you can follow these steps:

import wave

# Open the WAV file
with wave.open('audio.wav', 'rb') as wav_file:
    # Get the metadata
    metadata = wav_file.getparams()

    # Modify the metadata as needed
    metadata.title = 'New Title'
    metadata.artist = 'New Artist'

    # Create a new WAV file with the modified metadata
    with wave.open('new_audio.wav', 'wb') as new_wav_file:
        new_wav_file.setparams(metadata)

        # Copy the audio data from the original file to the new file
        new_wav_file.writeframes(wav_file.readframes(wav_file.getnframes()))

This code snippet opens the original WAV file, retrieves its metadata using the getparams() method, modifies the desired metadata fields, and creates a new WAV file with the modified metadata. The audio data is then copied from the original file to the new file.

Option 2: Using the pydub library

The pydub library is a powerful audio processing library for Python. It provides a high-level interface for manipulating audio files, including the ability to edit metadata. Here’s how you can use pydub to edit the metadata of a WAV file:

from pydub import AudioSegment

# Load the WAV file
audio = AudioSegment.from_wav('audio.wav')

# Modify the metadata
audio = audio.set_sample_width(2)  # Example modification

# Export the modified audio with the updated metadata
audio.export('new_audio.wav', format='wav')

This code snippet uses the from_wav() method of the AudioSegment class to load the WAV file. The metadata can then be modified using various methods provided by the AudioSegment class. Finally, the modified audio is exported to a new WAV file using the export() method.

Option 3: Using the mutagen library

The mutagen library is a popular choice for working with audio metadata in Python. It supports a wide range of audio formats, including WAV. Here’s how you can use mutagen to edit the metadata of a WAV file:

from mutagen.wavpack import WavPack

# Load the WAV file
audio = WavPack('audio.wav')

# Modify the metadata
audio['title'] = 'New Title'
audio['artist'] = 'New Artist'

# Save the modified audio with the updated metadata
audio.save('new_audio.wav')

This code snippet uses the WavPack class from the mutagen.wavpack module to load the WAV file. The metadata can then be modified by assigning new values to the desired metadata fields. Finally, the modified audio is saved to a new WAV file using the save() method.

Among these three options, the best choice depends on the specific requirements of your project. If you only need to edit the metadata of WAV files and prefer a built-in module, option 1 using the wave module is a good choice. If you require more advanced audio processing capabilities and prefer a high-level interface, option 2 using the pydub library is recommended. Finally, if you need to work with various audio formats and require a flexible library, option 3 using the mutagen library is the way to go.