Musicians are unsure how to feel about it.
easiest, quickest to obtain, and most controversial method of .
building a digital music library available. In a few short .
years, it has both revolutionized and scandalized the music .
industry. .
The MP3 format was designed by the Moving Pictures Expert .
Group (MPEG). This group was formed in January 1998 to design a .
standardized format for digital video and audio that would work .
on any platform. The MPEG was assisted in this venture by the .
German company Fraunhofer-IIS (Underhill and Gertier, 16). .
The format is officially designated as MPEG audio layer .
three. The computer file extension is ".mp3". The extension .
name became the popular name for the format. When an MP3 is .
created, it compresses the size of an audio file by an .
approximate factor of 12. This compression causes no loss of .
sound quality in the file. Due to these compression factors, a .
single recordable CD (CD-R) can hold hundreds of files. .
2.
The MP3 phenomenon was at first limited to the personal .
computer, but as the popularity of the format grew, several .
companies began developing personal MP3 players. The first .
players were small and of limited capacity, but more recent .
developments have made for greater storage capabilities and .
wider-spread use. MP3 capability is now included as a part of .
many DVD players. The portable CD player has been expanded to .
include the MP3 format. Several automobile stereo .
manufacturers, including Kenwood, Pioneer, and Aiwa, have begun .
incorporating MP3 use into their products. Last year, Phillips .
Electronics put out the first portable stereo that included the .
use of MP3 CDs. .
The small size and widespread use of the MP3 format has led .
to the rise of hundreds of Internet distributors. The most .
famous of these websites is the now-defunct Napster. Most .
recently, Apple Computers has opened the iTunes Music Store.
Some of these sites, such as the Apple store, require a monetary .
