INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS MP3?
MPEG
(Motion Picture Experts Group) Layer 3 , or MP3, is an algorithm that compresses
a digital music file into a manageable size at minimal quality loss. Using
MP3, the data content of a digital music recording can be compressed by a
factor of up to 12:1, which substantially reduces the amount of time to transmit
the file and the amount of memory, storage and other system resources required
to handle the file without degrading the fidelity of the music contained in
the compressed file. This would mean that Originally seen as a high-quality
sound format, it is now used to create sound files of near CD-quality. Most
MP3 songs vary from about 3 - 5mb, while a raw wav file from a CD would be
around 50 mb.
Searching for Mp3 music can be a little bit of a problem because the respective sites can be so crowded you can't get on, copyright violations abound and many links don't work, because people have been forced to take their sites down. The Internet is changing everything in the music world--namely, shifting the balance of power from piracy-fearing record-label executives to small-time musicians and their fans.
WHAT
IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT MP3?
Four
elements are coming together to make it so special:
First is MP3 itself, which squeezes about a minute
of music into about one megabyte and MP4 which is in progress, allows data
to be compressed even further.
Second is Net culture, which combines the natural human instinct to share discoveries with an antiauthority instinct that hasn't forgiven the recording industry for doubling the cost of commercial music in the switch from LP vinyl to CDs.
Third is hardware: despite an attempt by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to block its sale, Diamond Multimedia's palm-size Rio machine and its competitors let you carry 30 to 60 minutes of downloaded music in your pocket.
Fourth, and least tangible, is frustration with mass music. Huge numbers of talented musicians can't get a recording contract but can, given the chance, attract a devoted coterie of fans. For them, MP3 provides a way to make their music available directly to fans who may be all over the world.
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