Mp3 Audio Essay, Research Paper

What is the hottest buzzword around the Internet today? What topic has replaced sex as the most searched for term on the web? The answer to both of these questions is MP3 audio.

MP3 stands for MPEG 1 Layer 3 Audio, which is a digital audio compression format developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group. It takes a CD audio file and gets rid of all the frequencies on the song that can t be heard by the human ear, thus ridding the data file of much wasted space. With compression, the files turn out to be around four times smaller than the original with the same, near CD quality audio. While MP3 may technically be the name of the compression format, it has become synonymous with the music files themselves.

There are many benefits of MP3s. The biggest benefits would have to be MP3 files size and cost. By using great compression, MP3s are only a quarter of the size of the original file. With a typical 3-minute song, the MP3 is only around 3 megabytes. With such a small size, MP3s are easily downloaded from the Internet and shared between people. Everything that can be done with MP3s can be done freely. The audio players that play the format, the rippers that compress the audio files with the MP3 format, and MP3s themselves can all be downloaded freely from the Internet.

While this may sound like a great format, some may question its legality. Any music CD can be used to create MP3s, even commercial ones. While some users download these copyrighted songs from the Internet, which are very easy to find, the act is illegal. However, there are many bands that release their music online for publicity, which is completely legal. The only time it is illegal is when the audio file is that of a copyrighted music track used without the artist s permission.

To an up and coming band, MP3s and MP3 websites are a godsend. These bands can record a CD at any recording studio, then rip that is, take an audio CD track and turn it into an MP3 – the tracks and put them on their website for anyone to download. The band could also put their songs on a large, well known website such as mp3.com which specializes in the distribution of legal MP3 audio files. By doing this, the band is allowing their music to be heard easily, quickly, and inexpensively all over the world.

For music lovers around the globe, MP3s allow easy access to new music. They can easily get on the Internet and find out about new bands and their music. They can also find songs by their favorite bands that had been previously been unreleased or bootlegs from concerts.

When the MP3 standard was first developed, it was solely used on computers. One could download the music, but then be stuck listening to it only there. Then Diamond, a well-known manufacturer of computer multimedia devices, invented the Rio. The Rio was a small MP3 player much like a Walkman. The device connected to a computer and the MP3s were transferred to it. This allowed the MP3s to be taken away from the computer and on the road for the first time.

The worst part of MP3s is the fact that it is very easy to use them for bad instead of good. Many users do pirate the MP3s by copying tracks from copyrighted artists. This gives the format a bad name and causes bands to lose money. In fact, when the Rio was released, the Recording Industry Association of America sued Diamond because of the possibility of users playing illegal tracks on the player. This was very unfortunate for the company, but thankfully, the court ruled that they could release the player anyway.

The MP3 compression format is one of the greatest computer and Internet technologies to come along in a while. The quality is fabulous and the size is awesome considering this fact. This format benefits all who take advantage of it, including bands and listeners alike.