Introduction: As you may know as a musician who may be
thinking of starting a record label of your own, the file format
of MP3 has become hugely popular. Anyone who is wanting to start a record
label or is interesting in recording their own music, should know a
general history of the MPS. The article below should help.
Behind the Files: History of MP3
Author: Gabriel Nijmeh
In just over a couple of years, the MP3 audio file format has
caused a big stir and captured the minds and hard drives of
millions of people worldwide. MP3, short for Moving Picture
Experts Group, Audio Layer III is a compression format that
compresses audio files with only a small sacrifice in sound
quality. MP3 files can be compressed at different rates, but the
higher the compression, the lower the sound quality. A typical
MP3 compression ratio of 10:1 is equal to about 1 MB for each
minute of an MP3 song.
It all started in the mid-1980s, at the Fraunhofer Institut in
Germany, where work began on developing a high quality, low
bit-rate audio format. In 1989, Fraunhofer was granted a patent
for the MP3 compression format in Germany and a few years later
it was submitted to the International Standards Organization
(ISO), and integrated into the MPEG-1 specification. Frauenhofer
also developed the first MP3 player in the early 1990s, which
was the first attempt at developing an MP3 player. In 1997, a
developer at Advanced Multimedia Products created the AMP MP3
Playback Engine, which is regarded as the first mainstream MP3
player to hit the Internet. Shortly after, a couple of creative
university students took the Amp engine, added a user-friendly
Windows interface and called it Winamp. The turning point was in
1998, when Winamp was offered to the public as a free music
player, and thus began the MP3 craze.
As the MP3 craze mushroomed, it didn't take long for other
developers to start creating a whole range of MP3 software. New
MP3 encoders, CD rippers, and MP3 players were being released
almost every week, and the MP3 movement continued to gain
momentum. Search engines made it easy to find the specific MP3
files, and portable MP3 players like the Rio and the Nomad
Jukebox allowed people to copy MP3 songs onto a small portable
device, no different than your Walkman or Discman.
By early 1999, the first peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing
software application was released, one which shook the world
overnight. Napster, the killer app that will be remembered like
no other MP3-related software was developed by nineteen-year-old
university student, Shawn Fanning and his idea for Napster was
to allow anyone with an Internet connection to search and
download their favourite songs, in minutes. By connecting
people, Napster created a virtual community of music fans.
However, along came the Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) which as a representative of the major record
companies and owners of the sound recordings, successfully
battled Napster for copyright law infringement and an injunction
was issued that effectively shut down Napster. The RIAA argument
is that all the free downloading is in breach of copyright laws
and therefore promotes audio piracy. As a result, file sharing
impacts their ability to sell CDs and make a profit. Despite the
legal problems that Napster has faced and the fact that they are
currently not operational, MP3 file swapping and has continued
on, and for a number of reasons.
A big reason MP3s have become the de-facto audio standard is
that the original patent holders made it freely available for
anyone to develop MP3 software. This open source model allowed
early MP3 pioneers to develop MP3 software that accelerated the
acceptance of the MP3 audio format. MP3 being just one of
several types digital audio formats is not necessarily the most
efficient or of highest sound quality. Better compression
technologies have existed for some time now, but the success of
MP3 is due to the relatively open nature of the format.
Companies such as Microsoft and Yamaha have developed
proprietary formats, but have placed restrictions on how
developers can utilize their technology. For example,
Microsoft's Windows Media Audio (WMA) file format, which they
claim is a higher quality audio format at smaller file sizes, is
starting to gain more acceptance as it comes bundled as the
standard audio format in Windows 98/2000/XP. Microsoft might be
able to challenge the dominance of MP3s or at the very least
offer a second, popular audio format choice.
All the downloading and swapping of MP3s has attracted the wrath
of the RIAA because there are no digital security features
associated with MP3, so millions of songs are freely shared
everyday by millions of users. The files are small enough to be
downloaded easily, or even sent to a friend as an email
attachment.
Another thing that makes MP3s very exciting and compelling is
that it is easy for people to become DJs by mixing their
favorite songs. A lot of people have created their own
compilation CDs where they take all of their favorite songs from
different artists and bands and burn them to CD very quickly and
easily.
Webcasting or Internet radio has also become very popular
allowing listeners to "stream" audio on their computers. Unlike
downloaded MP3s, streamed MP3 files aren't stored on your hard
drive, but are broadcast like traditional radio through your MP3
player. Real Networks was one of the first to offer streamed
audio software, which uses a proprietary format known as
RealAudio. Microsoft allows offers their own proprietary
streaming audio through their Windows Media Application. If you
do a search for "Internet radio" or "webcasting",
you will find
hundreds of Internet radio stations offering every imaginable
type of programming.
Of course, as exciting as MP3s are, there are some legal and
business battles that are being waged. MP3 itself is not an
illegal audio format, but when people offer up MP3 versions of
copyrighted material that is considered a copyright
infringement. The Home Recording Act allows you to make copies
of your music CDs for personal use but by law, you are not
allowed to distribute or share these files with friends or
family if they do not own a copy of the CD.
The debate rages on as to whether or not MP3 and P2P file
sharing programs are good for the music industry. MP3 proponents
believe that MP3s help promote music and musicians by getting
the music heard far and wide. On the other hand, MP3 critics
argue that free music will kill the music industry and the
artists who depend on it. Essentially, it is a battle for
control of music distribution. Artists can now bypass record
labels and distribute their music very easily and effectively.
A balanced and compromised solution should benefit artists and
music labels. There is no doubt that artists and musicians
should be compensated for their efforts, yet a lot of new and
upcoming bands distribute free MP3s as way to get their music
heard. As the buzz and excitement builds around the band, people
are more inclined to support the bands by buying their CDs,
attend concerts and purchase other band merchandise. Ultimately,
bands and music labels probably don't want to bite the hand that
feeds them.
So, where does that leave us? Well, as we have seen many times
over the years, hot technology trends come and go. However, MP3s
have really captured the ears of music aficionados worldwide.
With millions upon millions of MP3 audio files out there, and
hundreds and maybe even thousands of MP3 related software that
has been developed by software developers worldwide, there is no
doubt that MP3s are here to stay.
About the author:
Gabriel Nijmeh is the software editor at MP3-CDBurner.com -
http://www.mp3-cdburner.com,
where we feature software reviews
and downloads of MP3 software including CD rippers, MP3 CD
burners, MP3 converters and more. Stay up-to-date on the latest
and hottest MP3 software downloads and enjoy our MP3 tutorials,
FAQs, music articles and shareware developer profiles.
Learn
all you need to know about starting
a record label.
The Ultimate Record Label Handbook ©
2005.
All Rights Reserved.
|
