When it first came on the scene, mp3 scared the shit out of the music business--namely the Big Five labels (BMG, Sony, Universal/Polygram, EMI, WEA) and their political arm, the Recording Industry Association of America. The timing was perfect: Seagram's had just announced its mega-label buyout (which effectively killed many smaller subsidiaries of the affected labels) and the independent, DIY quotient of the music industry had slumped to an all-time low.
Along came mp3 to save the day. Here was a digital audio format (compressing near-CD-quality sound files to less than one tenth of their original size) that empowered music consumer and music producer alike. Fans could download new songs from their favorite artists for free; musicians could distribute their music without the aid of a money-grubbing corporate label. Everything was peachy. Not for long, though. Greedy labels, along with the RIAA, couldn't stand to see precious dollars going straight to the artist without their skimming off the top. Soon, mp3--just like CDs, cassette tapes, and vinyl--would become a moneymaking format.
The punk-rock aesthetic of piracy may be fading, but mp3 is nonetheless a vital format. One online file can spawn a seemingly infinite number of downloaded offspring. Shipping, merchandising, and packaging costs become irrelevant with mp3s. What's more, their small size translates to fast download times--approximately five minutes per song on the slowest of connections (28.8)--and less strain on disc space. While the free mp3s are becoming extinct, the ones for sale are, on average, much cheaper than their material-world equivalents. CD-length collections of mp3s average $10 each: mp3s aren't just for music fanatics, they're for the cheapskate music lover.
Convinced mp3s are worth a shot? What follows is a primer to whatcha need to do the mp3 jig. It is in no way comprehensive, but it should get you rollin'.
• A computer, modem, and Internet connection. Most mp3 sites are designed with the slower connection in mind, but a faster modem will save you time and agony.
• A sound card and speakers. Ya can't hear the music without these.
• mp3 software. Also known as a player or jukebox, this is the CD-like interface for playing the files you harvest from the Web. The tried-and-true favorite is the WinAmp (winamp.com) player. It's got an easy-to-understand "console" that you can now customize with bell-and-whistle interface overlays called "skins." Try it out for free for 14 days, but then you gotta pay the $10 license fee. If you're a real cheapskate, you can get a Freeamp (freeamp.com). Download and installation takes a measly 5 to 10 minutes for both. Fancier "jukeboxes" allow you to organize, search for, compile, and record mp3s, and they're available from musicmatch.com or our hometown bigwigs, real.com. Both offer free beta downloads, but if you want the full meal deal, it'll cost ya $30.
