You've probably being been hearing a lot about MP3 lately. Maybe you've
downloaded or encoded music in that format, maybe you (like so many other people)
entered the phrase "MP3" in a search engine looking for new sounds. Maybe you
received a cease and desist letter from a downtown New York law firm on
expensive linen letterhead demanding, ever so politely, that you shut down your
web site. Or maybe you read the papers and notice that even the most cursory
glance at the consumer electronic industry will reveal any number of new
products that play MP3-encoded music in your car or as a portable "Walkman-like"
device. Does MP3 really deserve this much attention? Is it worth your time to
learn about and use this codec? Well...yes and no. Obviously most hype is built
around a kernel of truth. To get to that kernel lets ask a few questions. Maybe
we can get the birdseye lowdown on this caper.
First a moment for full disclosure: we Fezguys think that investing your time
and energy encoding your music with MP3 is, for the time being, a good idea.
Let's face it, it's popular. More popular than any other digital music download
format. We think you should educate yourself about the format and its many uses.
There's millions of people with players looking for MP3 encoded music on the
Internet. Why not take advantage of the situation? That said, let's shine the
Bat Signal on the cloud of information.
Does MP3 sound that good?
Yes, but not necessarily better than other codecs. Focusing on audio quality
alone reveals that MP3, MP2 and Dolby Digital all sound roughly the same at
higher bitrates (128kbps throughput or above). This is the standard defined by
that much-abused phrase: "near CD quality." Also, the recently released
RealNetworks G2 codec sounds a smidgen better than MP3. The new AAC (sometimes
mistakenly labeled "MP4") codec (as of this writing still untested in the
research labs of FezOps) holds a lot of promise. Given that AAC is the
next-generation open standard of MP3, it stands to reason that this new codec
could take the place of MP3 as the most efficient and good-sounding digital
music download format. So, yes, MP3 sounds good enough to use but there are
other options. Your choice should take into consideration exactly what your
needs are. Consider your audience and the application of your audio. Not
everybody is using audio codecs merely for music. There's a wide array of
educational and industrial audio, as well as audio books, taking advantage of
Internet distribution.
Why choose MP3 instead of MP2, RealAudio, Dolby Digital, AAC or Liquid Audio?
The fact is there isn't necessarily a best codec. MP3 has recently gained the
lion's share of the market and media exposure, and that's what really matters to
independent musicians. Since more people seem to have MP3 players for direct
downloads than the other kind we'll certainly benefit from encoding our material
in this format. Independent filmmakers don't release their work on Betamax
cassettes at the consumer level. Nobody could view it. So: it's all about
audience size. MP3 is in the press, it's on people's minds and millions of
listeners have a player of one kind or another. For now the popularity of MP3 is
like a glacier: an elemental force of nature. We can't stop it, so we might as
well enjoy it.
What key factors differentiate MP3 from other formats?
We don't see any consumer electronics manufacturing giants creating hardware
playback devices for RealAudio (or any other format) encoded music. A common
complaint about downloadable music seems to be that you can't listen to it in a
car. MP3 (with a little help from those same manufacturers) has changed all that.
With the release of the widely recognized Diamond Multimedia RIO MP3 portable
music player and the expected release of many more such devices for the home or
car all indications are that the consumer electronics industry supports the
technology. Once again, where there's money to be made, form follows content.
It's also important to remember that MP3 is no longer primarily a streaming
technology. Its most common use is download-only.
Is MP3 going to last as the number one public digital audio format?
No, nothing ever does. (This philosophical message brought to you by Nothing
Ever Lasts, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of ButThatsOk.com: "Napping For
Peace.") Though MP3's audience will drop off eventually it's clear that, for the
time being, the format continues to grow in popularity. MP3's marketshare could
be eclipsed if major labels actually agree and implement a functional digital
download format that benefits not only the big guys but consumers and musicians
as well. But we're not holding our breath. When it comes to online distribution
of their music product they can't agree on anything, except that it's coming.
What about the crackdown on illegal MP3 sites and the image of MP3 as a tool
of pirates? Will I be a criminal if I use this format?
Many uninformed lawyers, politicians and major label board members would like
you to believe that. Hey! If you're lucky...imagine how much money you can make
selling the rights for the story of how you were wrongfully accused...an
innocent in a den of sharks! It'll be big, big, BIG! Actually, the closing of "illegal"
MP3 sites (pages that offer encoded music files of copyrighted music without
permission from the rights holder) has a hidden benefit of sending people to the
(legal) independent musician sites. Very few mainstream musical acts provide
MP3-encoded music files. That leaves you and your sound a lot of room for now.
Don't wait too long though. Before you know it, entire catalogs of smaller
labels may be online in MP3.
If MP3 is so great why doesn't the music industry adopt it?
Indicators point to the eventual adoption of some tweaked form of MP3 by
mainstream music labels. That news is good and bad. Good because industry
alliances are being formed around MP3 downloadable music. Bad because when large
organizations co-opt an idea or technology to fit their own needs the original
intent (and more importantly backwards compatibility) often becomes buried
beneath layers of profit-driven expediency. What good is the industry adopting
MP3 if the millions of free players can't play the files because they're trapped
behind a wall of encryption?
Some indicators that the industry is taking a close look at MP3: The Harry
Fox Agency (they represent the big music publishers) issued a license for
GoodNoise.com to place downloadable MP3 files on their web site. GoodNoise.com
also signed an agreement with Rykodisc to put files from their catalog on the
GoodNoise.com web site as pay-per-download. Though no one has mentioned it
officially, we can only assume the deals are related.
Also, The Madison Project by IBM will encode more than 2,000 albums and
singles (with the blessing of the large music labels) in encrypted MP3 and other
formats. The music, liner notes and artwork will be available, for a fee, to
1,000 subscribers of Time-Warner's RoadRunner cable modem network. If those
thousand test cases buy lots of stuff the Project will be expanded to regular
dialup modem users. The audio will be high quality and the price will be around
the same as purchasing the CD at a retail outlet. It's always amusing to watch
how companies pretend to offer extra value and privilege while actually masking
a thinly veiled sales pitch. Sort of a sideways version of "the more you spend,
the more you save!"
Another indicator of MP3's undeniable percentage of the market share is the
announcement by industry darling Liquid Audio (winner of the "Riding the Horse
in the Direction It's Going" award) that they are planning to add MP3 capability
to the next generation of their products.
For more information on MP3, try out <www.mp3.com> or <www.wirednews.com/news/mpthree/>
Original text by Jon Luini, Allen Whitman
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