Mp3

Two years ago, MP3 was just another audio compression format. Today, it's a Net phenomenon that's at the center of an enormous controversy. That's because MP3 makes it possible for people with an Internet connection to bypass record stores (and cashiers) and download CD-quality music by their favorite artists--for free. MP3 is great for

music lovers and cheapskates, who can download funky tunes to their hearts' content without spending a dime; however, it's a nightmare for musicians and record companies, who can only watch helplessly as their profits drop into a digital black hole.

DEFINITION

MP3 is short for MPEG-1 Layer 3 (Moving Pictures Expert Group), a format for storing digital audio. It uses an advanced type of audio compression which reduces the filesize with little reduction in quality. MP3 is used particularly for music distribution over the Internet, but is also use for other purposes such as real-time digital audio transmissions over ISDN (used by reporters). MPEG-1 has been around since 1992, but during he last few years (1998/99) it has started to get widespread attention from regular media and ordinary