If you're a big "net junkie" you may have noticed that many sites are offering files called MP3s. Just what is an MP3 you may ask? MP3 is the shortened, more popular name for the Mpeg Layer 3 file compression format. MP3s are highly compressed sound files. While the Mpeg compression format has been out for awhile now, the Mpeg Layer 3 has compressed these sound files so greatly that they are now being widely distributed, and are just now making it into the public eye.
             MP3 compression has been a major contribution to how people distribute music. This high compression, "...1/10 of the original dat file's size." , brings "CD quality music at bit rates ranging from 128 to 384 KB/sec." Distinguishing an MP3 file encoded at these high bit-rates from a real CD, is nearly impossible for the un-aided ear. MPEG compression is also used in the encoding of movies for digital media. To better explain just what MPEG compression does, I will quote Stephen A. Booth from his article How Compression Works. "In a movie, for example, a vast expanse of blue sky needn't be encoded bit for bit; identical pixels in the scene are mapped and bit-coded to repeat, while only differences need be registered uniquely." What makes MP3s such a major break-through is the fact that you don't need any high-tech equipment to create and play them. All that is needed is a computer, and special software which can be downloaded from the internet.
             The music industry has the most to gain from the MP3 compression format. MP3s will greatly increase the distribution of music samples, one of the leading ways that music companies increase their profit margins with. MP3s are so greatly compressed that low-bandwidth users browsing the internet from home can download music samples quickly. This will greatly increase the reach of the music industry and convince more people to buy music from them. The web site known as GoodNoise has already jumped on this chance t
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