Music Information

Mp3s - The Future of Music?


Mp3 music is audio that has been digitally encoded and compressed to make the amount of data smaller without compromising the overall sound quality. It's a revolutionary technique with incredibly good results; mp3 music is frequently indistinguishable from music found on a CD (though some audiophiles with very sensitive ears dispute that statement).

The popularity of mp3 music made available on the Internet is a trend reaching gigantic proportions; these encoded songs are everywhere. Websites called mp3 blogs offer rare or hard-to-find mp3 music and avid fans sometimes spend hours at a time sifting through the piles of downloadable material. Newer recording artists that would often fall under the radar without the help of a well-known label are now able to convert their songs into mp3 music and make them available on the Internet, allowing huge numbers of people the chance to hear songs that they otherwise wouldn't have been exposed to. It's an extremely popular thing, mp3 music, one of those rare pop-culture phenomena embraced by nearly everyone.

But regardless of its massive popularity, mp3 music is surrounded with controversy. Many programs that allow users to transfer mp3 music directly from computer to computer offer the services for free, eliminating the possibility of royalties for the artist and label. Fearful of losing tons of money to fans downloading records instead of buying them, large factions of the music industry fought to make free mp3 music illegal -- and succeeded to a degree. The laws, however, have loopholes, and many websites or P2P programs have exploited them for all they're worth.

Additionally, laws regulating mp3 music in the United States aren't necessarily applicable to other countries, so new websites and programs (particularly, for some reason, in Russia) have popped up offering the free services railed against in America. Because of the hotly argued ethical issues surrounding mp3 music, many shy away from the topic (and practice) completely. Others embrace it, citing huge record costs as justification enough for free mp3 music. It's an argument not likely to end anytime soon; the ethical issues will be debated as long as free mp3 music is available somewhere.

In any case, MP3's are here to stay, and wise is the musician who learns about them and takes advantage of them.

(With Mollie Wells)

Duane Shinn is the author of over 500 music books and music educational materials such as DVD's, CD's, musical games for kids, chord charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional courses for adults. His book-CD-DVD course titled "How To Play Chord Piano In Ten Days!" has sold over 100,000 copies around the world. He holds advanced degrees from Southern Oregon University and was the founder of Piano University in Southern Oregon. He is the author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled "Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions" with over 57,400 current subscribers.


MORE RESOURCES:

The Associated Press

Jimmy Kimmel returns as American Music Awards host
The Associated Press - 10 hours ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel is coming back to provide more laughs for the American Music Awards. The comedian and talk show host is slated to host the ...


BBC News

Pop stars demand control over music
The Press Association - 3 hours ago
Robbie Williams, Radiohead and Kate Nash are among Britain's top pop and rock acts who are demanding more control over their music. Dozens of the music ...
UK Artists Form Coalition To Protect Rights Billboard
Radiohead, Billy Bragg, Others Join to Demand Fair Treatment Wired News
The Music Industry Reacts To Online Music All About Symbian
Ars Technica - NME.com
all 362 news articles


Noteflight Launches the First Online Music Notation Editor
MarketWatch - 6 hours ago
The score can be played directly from the browser, shared with individuals, published online or printed as sheet music for use by live musicians. ...


Universal Music Group (UMG) Partners With Dada Entertainment
MarketWatch - 3 hours ago
Starting today, tracks from Universal Music Group's catalogue will be available for Dada.net users to download as DRM-free full-track MP3s and ringtones. ...
Sony’s expands 66-cent-per-song music attack at Apple TG Daily
Universal Music Group (UMG) Joins Flycell to Celebrate Hispanic ... MarketWatch
all 14 news articles


Music-Industry and Digital Music Services to Announce Major ...
MarketWatch - 5 hours ago
Board members include representatives from: EMI Music, Sony Music, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, The American Society of Composers, ...


MTV Tr3s Turns Up the Volume on Regional Mexican Music
MarketWatch - 3 hours ago
MTV Tr3s is turning up the volume on a much-loved genre of Latino music, Regional Mexican, with the development of three exclusive programs, including the ...


American Media Services Interactive Announces Alliance with TapIt ...
MarketWatch - 8 hours ago
As a supplement to media websites, TapIt(R) will deliver access to independent music with a forum of artists to sell and promote music discovery. ...


EMI Published Composer Bryan Le Bon Discovers Healing Through Music
MarketWatch - 5 hours ago
Bryan Le Bon has discovered how music can alter the brain's thought processes to promote healing. Le Bon's music uses the "law of vibration" through musical ...


Digital-Lifestyles.Info

MySpace Music: One billion songs streamed
CNET News, CA - 4 hours ago
MySpace has put out a statement saying that one billion songs have been streamed since the News Corp. social network debuted its MySpace Music service last ...
MySpace Music Streamed Its Billionth Song “A Few Days” After Launch TechCrunch
all 6 news articles


BBC News

Coldplay win two top Q music awards
Reuters India, India - 3 hours ago
British band Coldplay won two top prizes at the Q music magazine awards on Monday, taking the Best Album title for chart-topper "Viva La Vida or Death and ...
Pink Floyd's David Gilmour: 'Music Is Lost Without Rick Wright' Gigwise
Double win for Coldplay at Q Awards Times Online
Grace Jones steals the show at the Q Awards Telegraph.co.uk
BBC News - The Press Association
all 75 news articles

Music - Google News

home | site map
© 2006