The music industry has always been a medium of trends. But the latest trend, MP3, is causing quite an uproar in the music business. MP3 is not a new band or even a new sound - it's the latest format for playing music, and it's making music free and highly accessible to anyone with a computer.

What is MP3?

MP3, which is short for "Moving Pictures Experts Group-1 audio layer 3," involves formatting, compressing and playing audio files back on a computer at near-CD quality. A typical four-minute song on a CD takes up about 40 megabytes of disk space as a standard ".wav" file. MP3 squeezes the same song into just four megabytes, without any noticeable regression in sound quality.

Invented in Germany a few years back, the MP3 trend has only recently begun to take off, due mostly to the 500,000-plus MP3 files easily accessible on the Internet. Computer companies such as Diamond are even selling portable MP3 players and MP3 players for your car.

And it's easy to start an MP3 collection. All one needs is a computer.

Why MP3?

MP3 can be used for a number of applications. With the right computer hardware and software, anyone can turn their home PC into a virtual jukebox.

The most unique thing about MP3 is that it allows music fans to download songs from not-yet-released albums, as well as rare and live performances from, for instance, the Alanis Morisette/Tori Amos tour. Also, though illegal, it can allow anyone to download their favorite songs or even entire albums from their favorite artists. Only like one song off a particular album? Just get the MP3 and save yourself 15 bucks.

Through compression software, such as MusicMatch, one can download their favorite songs off their favorite CDs to create a unique collection of playable music. And if the collection is incomplete, a quick search on the Internet will offer an abundance of sites that offer free music.

Legal Issues

Is MP3 legal? Yes and no. According to the Web site MP3.Com (located at www.mp3.com), "using an MP3 is legal if the song's copyright holder has granted permission to download and play the song. However, it is illegal to encode MP3s from CDs and trade them without permission." But this hasn't stopped the explosion of sites that appear daily carrying unauthorized MP3s.

While there are sites that offer free downloads of authorized MP3s, such as MP3.Com, many music enthusiasts have found the Internet a great place for trading and downloading pirated music.

The Recording Industry Association of America, the music industry's governing body, is not impressed with computer users who are able to download free music. They believe that pirating music through MP3 takes money away from the record industry and violates copyright laws.

The RIAA is focusing its attention on controlling how audio files make their way to a computer's hard drive, RIAA spokeswoman Cary Sherman said in a news conference last October.

And the RIAA is fighting back. Through threats of copyright infringement, which leaves one liable for civil damages, criminal fines and even jail time, the RIAA and music companies such as Sony have shut down a number of sites posting unauthorized MP3 downloads.

Sherman said his organization's efforts to control MP3 distribution were not too successful in the initial stages. One week the RIAA found 80 Web sites offering 20,000 illegal MP3 files. Cease and desist orders were issued to the Web sites, but the following week saw another 60 sites and 15,000 files, and the week after, 115 sites with 35,000 files.

Almost every state has piracy-related laws that declare pirating counterfeit or bootleg audio recordings a criminal offense. Those kinds of statutes carry a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Currently, the long-term effects of MP3 are unknown. Though press releases from some music companies claim to be losing profits in the billions, some experts will argue that for every person who is not buying a CD from a mainstream band, another person makes up that loss by purchasing a CD from an unknown band who received exposure on the Internet through MP3. The true impact of MP3 on the record industry has yet to be truly determined.

The Good News

While RIAA and music companies express their dislike for this latest technology, many music artists have found a very positive reason for MP3s. Because they are so accessible and take very little time to download, unknown and unsigned artists are using the Internet as a means to get their music heard by posting their songs on such legal MP3 sites as MP3.Com.

Even some big-name artists have no regard for the RIAA's mission to block the distribution of MP3 files. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers tested the MP3 market last March, premiering the first single from their upcoming album Echo on the Internet. More than 150,000 MP3 users downloaded the single "Free Girl Now" nearly a full month before Echo's release. However, two weeks after its Internet premiere, Warner Bros., Petty's record company, ordered the single's removal from the MP3.Com site, citing a fear that downloads of "Free Girl Now" might discourage record sales.

The group They Might Be Giants currently is promoting their next album, Long Tall Weekend with a preview release of the track "Older." Long Tall Weekend actually will be the first album from a signed band to be offered only in MP3 format.

RollingStone.Com (www.rollingstone.com) offers its "Top Downloads" of MP3 files and even allows users to rate those audio files available at the site. A diverse selection includes acts such as rap legends Public Enemy and Los Angeles rockers Buckcherry.

Music critics at RollingStone.Com are seeking out MP3s from unsigned bands looking for coverage. Every MP3 sent in will be listened to by a critic and the unsuspecting band could win a spot in the magazine's MP3 section, according to RollingStone.Com.

MP3 files come and go with such high frequency to avoid detection by the RIAA. For every thousand sites they shut down, another ten thousand pop up. In all reality, anybody with a personal computer and a CD-ROM drive can become a publisher of MP3 music.

The RIAA and the music industry's biggest recording labels want to control music distribution, but as the dawn of a new millennium nears, the Internet is contributing to America's enjoyment of free music.