MP3: Online Music Pumps Up the Volume.When he wants to listen to some Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin, English pop music group formed in 1968 by guitarist Jimmy Page (1944–), singer Robert Plant (1948–), bassist John Paul Jones (1946–), and drummer John "Bonzo" Bonham (1948–80). after a hard day in class, Elliot Stevenson of Tappan, N.Y., doesn't reach for a CD. He turns on his computer, clicks to the band's Web site, and downloads a song. Moments later, "Black Dog" is blasting through his speakers. For many music fans, the ability to download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer. music off the Internet seems like the best advance in audio since Grandpa packed away his scratchy LPs. The innovation that's responsible: MP3, a computer format that compresses digital information, making it possible to transmit sound better and faster. MP3 Web sites have spread faster than hallway gossip, and the largest, mp3.com, offers some 56,000 songs. That's good news for unknown performers who need the exposure, but big marquee stars have also begun to appreciate MP3. Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos on August 22, 1963) is an American pianist and singer-songwriter. She is married to English sound engineer Mark Hawley. Together they have one daughter, Natashya "Tash" Lórien Hawley, born on September 5, 2000. and Alanis Morissette agreed to perform live over MP3 Web sites this year, and Public Enemy released its latest album on the Web last summer even before its CD hit the stores. Not everyone stands to gain from MP3, however. Record companies, worried that their music is being given away free, robbing them of royalities, now have more to fret about: portable players like the Rio (below) that let people take MP3 music anywhere. At $200, they're still "a little pricey Pricey Term used for an unrealistically low bid price or unrealistically high offer price. pricey Of, relating to, or being an unrealistically high offer. An offer to sell a security at $50 when the current market price is $47 is pricey. ," says Elliott, 16, but if they prompt even more people to download free songs, the next big sound you hear might be that of record-company lawyers complaining to Congress. RELATED ARTICLE: Web Music: How to Begin BY DAVID KUSHNER David Kushner is a writer who has contributed to publications including Wired, The New York Times, Rolling Stone and Salon. In addition, he is a contributing editor at Spin and IEEE Spectrum. FINDING MP3 AUDIO 1. MP3.com (http://www.mp3.com) offers pop, alternative, country, hip-hop, and spoken-word tracks. Most are by lesser-known artists, though major stars also promise live concerts on the site. PLAYING MP3 2. To decode (1) To convert coded data back into its original form. Contrast with encode. (2) Same as decrypt. See cryptography. (cryptography) decode - To apply decryption. MP3 files, you need to download special software. For Windows, try Winamp (http://www.winamp.com); Macintosh users can try Macamp (http://www.macamp.com). The sites include detailed downloading instructions. PORTABLE PLAYERS Priced at less than $200, the palm-sized Diamond Rio This article is about the american country band. For the MP3 player brand, see Rio (digital audio players). Diamond Rio is an American country music band formed in 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee. (left) has become the Walkman of MP3, playing about an hour's worth of near CD-quality music. |
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