.MP3 offers artists' fans the freedom of music

by Adam Greenberg assistant a&e editor

Perhaps the only thing more popular than music is free music.

Now, anyone with a computer can easily download quality recordings from the Internet thanks to a new file format called MP3, which stands for MPEG-2, layer 3, a system for encoding music.

An MP3 player is needed to play these files. A variety of players can be downloaded for free or as shareware if a computer does not already have one installed.

While this might be music to consumers' ears, the music industry is singing a different tune.

Record companies fear that they will lose money as a consequence of this increased availability and quality of music on the Internet.

Besides the loss of profits, there are also the issues of copyright to consider. The

Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the major record labels, has shut down hundreds of sites because of illegally posted music files, according to a recent New York Tunes article.

Some artists are embracing this new technology, much to the chagrin of their record labels.

Both the Beastie Boys and Tom Petty have posted MP3s of their music on the web, and were later forced to remove them due to pressure from their record companies.

MP3 technology opens new doors for artists. Many artists record many more songs than actually appear on their albums. Sometimes these "leftover'' tracks are used as b-sides for singles or are tacked on to soundtrack albums. With MP3s, artists can now distribute these rarities to their fans for free.

There is nothing illegal about the MP3 format itself, according to the web site

MP3.com. Apparently, it is legal to use an MP3 with a copyright holder's permission and it is also legal to make copies from a CD for personal use, but it is illegal to encode MP3s and trade them without the proper permission.

The MP3.com site offers thousands of songs available for downloading. The site features an online top 40, ranking their most popular files.

Also, using MP3 as the key term on one of the search engines, such as Alta Vista, will produce a long list of sites with the files.

Obviously, listeners reap the rewards of this audio revolution, but they are not the only ones. Unsigned musicians can also use MP3 to promote and market their music. By posting a song on the Internet, a musician or a band's work is instantly accessible to a worldwide audience. While audio files have been available before, they were always too cumbersome in size and the clarity was not up to par. However, the accessibility and improved sound of MP3s most likely makes them a more attractive item for web surfers.

Another major concern for record companies is the issue of bootlegging. This trading and selling of illegally recorded concerts was once an underground phenomenon, significantly popularized by groups such as the Grateful Dead, Pb.isb and the Black Crowes, who encourage fans to make concert recordings. Now Deadheads can trade live songs over the Net with the MP3 technology, without significant deterioration in sound.

What does MP3 mean for music makers and their fans? For artists, it offers more freedom to distribute and market their own music to audiences, and for fans, it gives them an opportunity to check out music at no cost. The only downside seems to be for the rnultimillion dollar record corporations.

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