MP3's New Music Technology

MP3's are music that you can find on the internet. These tend to be either songs that have already been released that people have in their collection or new releases from bands who are trying to get their music heard. This is a new technology that is widely available, if you know where to look.

A MP3 is 'layer 3 technology' that compresses digital information to a smaller size with near Compact Disc (CD) quality (1). The two most popular MP3 players are Real Audio and Winamp(2), that both play CD's and Streaming Audio (like listening to a radio) as well as MP3's. Real Audio is available at almost every radio web site, where Winamp is more often found at MP3 sites and Bars' web sites whose bands have MP3's loaded.

The independent labels and unknown bands that get very little if any radio play outside of college circles, have embraced this new forum of getting their music to the public. These sites often target Generation X-ers who have the knowledge, curiosity and technology to invest their purchasing power in new forms of music and appreciate the availability of the music while working on the computer. Sites like MP3.com (3)offer bands the opportunity to showcase their music where one can download from their site for free, there is also a free CD offer where MP3.com will mail you a free CD of "the best 103 songs you never heard" in MP3 format. From this site you can download songs like "Left Wing Fascists - No Ones Ugly After 2:00 am" and other songs you wouldn't hear unless you happened to be at the same campus as the band. Another site that offers free MP3 CD's is mybytes.com (4)that specializes in campus life issues. As well as offering smaller band's MP3's they also offer some big names that can be purchased to listen to in liquid audio (5) like David Bowie's newest album "Hours..." including a bonus track that can only be purchased online (6).

Recently also is the emergence of "Napster.com. (7)" Napster is software that you download, run, and then you share all of your music with anyone else that is connected to that session. Of course all of these sites have disclaimers, that in effect claim no responsibility for illegal distribution of music through their sites. This poses a question to me, since I was able to get from Napster a copy of "One Eyed, One Horned, Flying Purple People EaterOne Eyed, One Horned, Flying Purple People Eater," which I have heard about since my childhood but until recently had never heard in its original version. This is a song that cannot be bought at any record store, and "oldie" radio stations have heard of, but can't get. These are some of the reasons why MP3's have had such popular success.

Yet all is not well with the distribution of MP3's. There is currently a legal dispute over the 'free' availability of MP3's. Major music labels that collect large residual checks from the play of their big name stars are disgruntled at the loss of revenues due to pirated copies of their albums. However, the independent companies are purposely striving to offer obscure or unknown music from their artists as free samples to draw customers who will return to buy more of what they like.

One such example is the emergence of songs by artists like Depeche Mode and Red Hot Chili Peppers who were unknown ten years ago but were spread by word of mouth and 'illegal' cassette tapes until achieving enough popularity to be requested and played by radio stations. Today these bands are considered mainstream, but the greed of the big companies for profits is overshadowing this realism.

According to Jennifer Sullivan's report

A valid response to this comes from Jason Zien

"The Internet presents a tremendous opportunity for the music industry but they have thus far squandered the opportunity to sell music over the Internet. Imagine the ability to go to a web site and select your favorite songs, pay for them over the Internet, and have them downloaded to your computer or portable audio device in minutes. So why isn't the recording industry excited about all this? Sadly, they are too busy worrying about the issue of illegal distribution of music to jump on the Internet bandwagon. In fact, they seem to be quite fearful of computer technology. Consider their stance on making perennial copies of music which you have legally purchased"(9).

While this battle rages and may continue for some time like the advent of the audiocassette (that eventually ended in a tax on cassettes that profits only big names like "Michael Jackson"), MP3 circles abound. Many are personal sites where any user may log in and "trade" five of their MP3's with the site for the opportunity to download one. Others like "Pure MP3" (10) limit their circles to those who will not put pornography on their sites. Anyhow, Mp3s are currently available to anyone without discrimination as long as you have access to a computer and the capability to download.