Posted by webmaster on 03/13/06 21:10

by Blake Daniels

Music is prevalent in every culture and it has become a universal
language. It has been described as "nourishment to the soul,"
"an extension of spirituality or a celebration of life," and as the
"purest form of art." It has been compared to that of the human
body as the "beating of the heart, the flow of blood, the play of
muscles, the pulsations of breath" - all part of a great symphony.

It can make us sing and dance or it can make us despair and cry.
It's for these very reasons why we cherish music. It explains why
music entered our lives and never left. Throughout history we have
created, performed and congregated to hear music. We long for it. We
hunger for it. And from the moment it was made possible, we have
collected music.

>From musical notes to tin foil cylinders to MP3s mankind has made every
attempt in capturing music to be shared with the masses. It wasn't
until the late 1940s when the vinyl record was invented that the
recording industry was able to meet the demands of music listeners by
providing an easy and affordable way to share music in a timely manner.
It was a music revolution.

By the 1950s the demand for music was everywhere. Today, music is
everywhere. It's played in elevators, in stores, on the phone, in
the car, on portable players, and it's on the Internet. Music comes
in many formats but none has taken Americans by storm as has the MP3.

The MP3 was created in the mid 1990s but was nearly unknown by all
until June of 1999 when a young college student, Shawn Fanning,
released a free service available over the Internet called Napster.
This service created a network of music lovers that allowed them to
share music in the MP3 format, which could easily be downloaded via a
dial-up modem due to its small file size.

Although later deemed illegal by the lower courts, Napster was an
instant hit and by 2001 it has 26.4 millions users. It allowed music
fans the opportunity to share their digital music collection with
others worldwide and vice versa. Irrelevant to how one may feel on the
subject in regard to the legality of sharing MP3s online, one cannot
deny Napster and the MP3 changed history in the way we get music, share
music and listen to music.

Today we have the option to carry hours upon hours of music on a
portable audio player about the size of a credit card, if not smaller.
In fact, some MP3 or AAC players will allow one to carry an entire
music collection on it, making it a portable jukebox. Music lovers
essentially have become their own walking deejays and radio stations.

>From downloading MP3s to streaming them on the Internet, MP3s and other
audio formats have made it simpler than ever to capture the heartbeat
of the soul and allow fans to enjoy music anytime, anywhere. One could
now have their cake and eat it too. Within minutes one can be
listening to a favorite song on their PC or portable audio player after
downloading it. One can now download nearly every song in MP3 format
or convert it from a compact disc.

Another music revolution had taken place. The music recording industry
at first argued against the popularity of the MP3 because of so-called
lost revenue but soon embraced it. The music fans had spoken and it
was clear - they wanted fair pricing for music on compact disc, they
wanted the option to buy singles or entire albums in MP3 format, and
they wanted better music.

The recording industry began listening and deals were made that led the
way to iTunes, Napster 2.0 and the alike. And music fans responded.
In fact, iTunes just recently sold their one-billionth song. In
Australia, three major music stores are making the transition to sell
MP3s and other digital music files rather than traditional compact
discs.

Overall, including the lawsuits and overpriced compact discs, the
change in the music industry has been in favor of the listeners. Where
it goes from here is uncertain but within music there is one constant
- as long as music continues to move us we will continue to dance.

For more information on MP3s, such as media players, downloading MP3s,
ripping CDs, converting MP3s, burning CDs, MP3 ringtones, and tagging
MP3 metadata, visit http://www.themp3plug.com.

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