Napster and iPod. One was a controversial file sharing program which was integral to early online audio enthusiasm, and the other was a revolutionary gadget instrumental in promoting digital audio appreciation to the public. A majority of the files downloaded from Napster were of the MP3 file format. Most of the files copied into the iPod are also of the MP3 file format.

What is MP3? It is actually a file extension, and it stands for ‘MPEG, Audio Layer 3’. It is an audio encoding format which makes use of an algorithm, or a specific set of instructions, to significantly compress the size required for a high quality digital audio file. This sort of compression involves the removal of certain sections and wavelengths which are beyond a person’s hearing range. The resultant file has a smaller size and its audio quality can be considered identical to the source it was derived from. This combination of convenient storage requirements and nearly indistinguishable audio quality has made it a hit among many audiophiles.

Not many people know that the concept behind what we now know as the MP3 file format were already being developed back in the 1980’s. Professors and engineers from places ranging from Argentina to Germany made significant contributions to the method of creating or converting sound samples to MP3 files. This method became known as the MP3 Algorithm. Back in the early 1990’s the MP3 algorithm was known to be tested on a song by Suzanne Vega, entitled ‘Tom’s Diner.’ This song stood out among other audio samples used to test the effectiveness and efficiency of the MP3 algorithm and was informally named the ‘Mother of MP3s’. The algorithm was eventually finalized, and on July 7, 1994, the first MP3 encoder for the PC was released.

The options for playing music prior to the MP3 were quite limited. People used to resort to cassette tapes and audio CDs. If a person had a computer back then, he or she usually was not so enthusiastic in keeping 40MB of WAV files.

Nearly a year after, MP3 files were known to circulate on the internet. Songs converted to the MP3 format grew more and more popular as software MP3 players was made available to the public via download from the internet. Not many people had broadband internet back then, but those who had a connection to the internet were definitely more excited in acquiring quality music file as small as 4MB in MP3 form, instead of 40mb in WAV form.

An early and still popular example of audio players supporting the MP3 format is Winamp. Other algorithms have been developed to produce similar file formats such as WMA and OGG, but it is the MP3 file format which was in the minds of many who were seeking music at the time. Encoders were developed to derive MP3 files from audio CD tracks, a method more popularly known as ‘ripping’.

Audio players were eventually followed by P2P programs which supported the easier sharing of files over the internet. ‘Ripped’ MP3 files served as the majority of audio tracks exchanged this way due to its small file size. One of the most popular programs of this type was the previously mentioned P2P program Napster. It was Napster which was targeted by lawsuits coming from a good number of record companies who, at the time, experienced a considerable loss of revenue due to this phenomenon of free music sharing.

MP3s have revolutionized the way people obtain music. The number of people who prefer to download music instead of purchasing them in record stores has grown significantly. It is for this reason that portable MP3 players were developed. ‘Walkman’ devices with MP3 storage and playback capabilities have been in the market since as early as 1998. Sales for MP3 players were quite mediocre, prior to the release of the Apple iPod, the portable music gadget which was a surprise hit for a great number of people. Its simple design, reliability, and capabilities have made it a must have even for people who were not necessarily computer enthusiasts.

In the light of these two extremely noteworthy events in the unpredictable world of technology, it would be difficult to tell how the world would be without the MP3. Who would have known that the development of the MP3 would have such an integral effect on the world in the fields of entertainment and economy?