MP3

MP3 stands for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, and was developed by the Motion Pictures Expert Group. It’s an encoding format that uses lossy data compression to seriously crunch audio files down from the high fidelity original into a much more manageable size, nearly universal to modern portable audio players.

MP3 popularity exploded with the rise of the original Napster, a peer-to-peer file sharing program that allowed users to share songs in MP3 format without paying for them. The relatively small size of MP3-format files made this type of file sharing relatively painless, even on slower dial-up connections that were popular at the time it emerged. This type of file sharing is technically illegal and a form of copyright infringement, and once word spread, the sharing of music over the Internet became quite the hot button issue.

Such file sharing still takes place today, but rather than trying to fight it with brick-and-mortar retail, smart publishers have embraced the digitial distribution model, such as Apple's iTunes Store and the DRM-free Amazon MP3 music downloading service.

MP3 achieves its high compression by factoring out aspects of the recording that are generally inaudible to people anyway. Removing those portions and recording the remainder in a more efficient way can cut down file sizes by 90% or more from the original cut, depending on the bit rate. Run of the mill 128kbps bit rate would sound okay, though not considered hi-fi by audiophiles. The higher the bit rate, the better the quality, and the larger the file, and vice versa.

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Original Technorati articles tagged “MP3”

• in Music
  Cheap Music Downloads Sound Sweeter in UK
  Getting the best deal on your favorite music downloads has suddenly been made much easier in Britain.
  by orangeduvet / on Dec 3, 2009

Latest blogosphere posts tagged “MP3”

• #3: Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack)

  
  SuperSave Price.com — Authority: 168
  Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack) by Various 1 day in the top 100 (3) Download: $3.99 (Ranking is updated hourly. Visit the Bestsellers in MP3 Albums list for authoritative information on this product’s current rank.) Here is the original: #3: Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack)
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• HandBrake

  
  Indonesia First Blog News — Authority: 126
  HandBrake Open SourceHandBrake is a free open-source program designed to convert MPEG video (including DVD-Video) into an MPEG-4 video file in .mp4 or .mkv containers.HandBrake is also an open-source, GPL-Licensed, multiplatorm, multithreaded, video transcoder, available for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows.Handbrake ...
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• Free nature sounds/mp3s on-line?

  
  Ask MetaFilter — Authority: 636
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• I Need 1 Of Each - 14th Edition

  
  BANDIT — Authority: 126
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• Best of Bootie 2009

  
  American Idol 9 - Rickey.org — Authority: 150
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• foobar2000 1.0 Beta 6: Flash audio conversion using command line

  
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• Soundbase 2010.01.01: Interesting organizing your music for free

  
  Free Software Download and Review @Esoft.Web.id — Authority: 155
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• Web-Based Media Player Muziic Lets You Play and Organize YouTube and Vevo Music

  
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• MIKKI AND THE MAUSES: I DON’T HAVE TO BE STUPID

  
  L.A. RECORD — Authority: 450
  Anthony Anzalone—the big cheese in Mikki and the Mauses—is the kind of guy that finds pleasure through lived experience, like going to Disneyland on his birthday just to people watch. Having just finished their first West Coast tour, Anzalone gladly finds time unwind the mind behind the Maus-ian madness. This ...
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• Zortam Mp3 Media Studio 10.15

  
  Engineering Where Your EyE See — Authority: 162
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• [Off My Radar] The Drums

  
  Knox Road — Authority: 433
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• #5: Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack)

  
  SuperSave Price.com — Authority: 168
  Fantastic Mr. Go here to read the rest: #5: Fantastic Mr. Fox (Original Soundtrack)
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• #9: Mother’s Milk [Explicit]

  
  SuperSave Price.com — Authority: 168
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• Passion x Weiss’ The 50 Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2009 (Compilation)

  
  Shabooty.com — Authority: 607
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• good morning! Sol.ID – The Redemption Mix

  
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• Akcent - Stay with me (Christian Green Remix) mp3

  
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