How do I listen to MP3?
Since MP3 is a data format and not an audio format, you cannot listen to these files in a normal CD player. MP3 needs a player designated as an MP3 player to decode the audio and produce listenable music from the data.There are many free mp3 players for download on the Internet. Winamp is the most popular and fairly easy to use. I personally like dbPowerAMP and the ability to rate your tracks so that the most popular get played more often. Take a look at our page with the above players and a couple more free mp3 players to choose from.Other ways to play mp3 include portable mp3 players, newer home stereos and DVD players with denoted MP3 playback ability, and car mp3 players.
Is MP3 Legal?
Since there have been so many lawsuits like the high profile suit involving Napster, many people are not sure whether MP3 is legal or not.The issue surrounding MP3 legality is copyright. The same premise behind the copyright laws governing books and other printed material are behind MP3. The law is trying to protect artists from not getting paid when people copy and distribute there music.
In and of itself, MP3 as a format is completely legal. MP3 is merely a technology that Thompson Multimedia and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft own a patent on. MP3 files become illegal when someone has taken copyrighted music, made copies of it, and distributed it to others without the rightful consent of the owners. Many argue that if they have bought the music they can do whatever they want with it as long as they are not making a profit. Under Digital Millenium Copyright Act, this is not true. Solid application of these laws however gets sketchy. What if you own the music and want to make copies on your computer or make your own custom CDs? Many believe, including myself, we have the right to do so. It is up to you to research the law and act according to your own ethical standards.
What is Napster?
Since its high profile lawsuit with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Napster has almost become a household name.Napster was founded in May 1999 by Shawn Fanning, a high school student that developed a program for people to share music files over the Inernet. The program caught on with the allure of "free music" and turned into a worldwide phenomena. However, Napster came under legal trouble and was found to be aiding copyright violation through its program. The central server was shut down by court order and the original program ceased. However, the program was bought out by media giant Bertelsmann AG (BMG) and is undergoing a reorginization.The core concept of Napster has since inspired a whole generation of file sharing devices like KaZaa, Music City Morpheus, and BearShare. Napster may have been the single biggest influence in popularizing the MP3 format.
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