A method for a machine or group of machines to carry watermark data in an encoded audio data frame of an audio signal includes receiving the encoded audio data frame having encoded therein a portion of the audio signal. The encoded audio data frame includes a plurality of data blocks, wherein the plurality of data blocks includes, a synchronization information block, at least one encoded data block, and an error check block. The method further includes receiving modified watermark data as modified based on a masking threshold analysis of the audio signal and transforming the encoded audio data frame into a modified encoded audio data frame.