THE MUSICTEACHERS.CO.UK GUIDE TO MP3 With the rise of Internet music, MusicTeachers.co.uk provide a comprehensive account of the ins and outs of the MPEG

What is an MP3?

MP3 music files are CD quality compressed recordings that occupy approximately one tenth to one twelfth of the file space of the equivalent CD format (WAV/AIFF file) This is achieved by filtering out all the unnecessary noise that is outside the range of human hearing. MP3 is a shortened name for MPEG-1 Audio Layer III and was developed initially by the Moving Picture Experts' Group (hence MPEG), and further developed by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany (anyone wanting a mind-boggling technical history of the format should visit their site).

MP3 - music for free?

There is a myth that has arisen alongside the development of MP3 that the Internet provides us with unlimited music for free. This has two probable main causes; firstly the ease with which MP3 files can be posted onto the Net means that piracy has become a major problem, with people creating sites that offer free (but illegal) MP3 downloads with neither the permission of the artist nor the recording company. Further problems have been caused by the use of software such as Napster. This is a freeware program that, in effect, turns your own computer into a virtual server; in simple terms this means that if you have Napster software installed on your computer, whilst surfing the Internet others with the same program can access and download MP3 files from your hard disk. This unfortunately makes it very easy to find bootlegged MP3s. There are now active steps being taken by recording companies to seek out this kind of site and take action against their owners. One anti-piracy action taken was to devise the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), which electronically watermarks files, therefore allowing their producers to prove their origin. Recent events have seen Napster signing deals with various recording companies, and the most likely way forward now will be for Napster users to pay to use the service so that royalties can be paid to the copyright holders of the files being distributed. No doubt the arguments will continue for a while yet, especially seeing that research has suggested that Napster users buy more CDs than others. However the future of recording turns out, it seems that MP3 is too convenient and popular to disappear as a format. Furthermore, the beauty of the files is that they allow an artist without a recording contract to make their work available to the masses at minimal cost. This, of course, has pros and cons; for example, it means that one is often clueless to the quality of the recording and the performance until after it has been downloaded, which, in this country, still takes time and, for many, an increase in their telephone bills.

What's the copyright situation?

It is perfectly legal to make MP3 files on your computer from your own CD collection, providing they are for your own personal use. However, music downloaded from, and distributed via the Internet is subject to the same copyright laws as conventionally produced music, and it is illegal to distribute such files without the consent of the copyright holder. To get a clearer picture of how copyright works, you can go to the website for the Performing Rights Society.