Mp3_Increase

The digital age is without a doubt upon us. As the years go by, the digital world continues to expand and improve. It is hard to deny the impact that digital technology has had in the past and continues to have today. The 1980s was a decade that brought forth the personal home computer and the Compact Disc. The Compact Disc, otherwise known as CD, caused all but the death of the popular music medium of that era, the vinyl record. The CD’s advantage over the vinyl is that the CD utilizes digital technology. Music found on a CD is nothing more than a computer file. As the CD became popular, home computers continued to be improved upon. By the 1990s, home computers and music became inseparable. Recordable CDs and CD recording drives for home computers were introduced. Music lovers could now arrange mixes of different tracks from multiple CDs. Instead of carrying around a large library of CDs, now only a small booklet of discs would be needed. Even with this solution, however, music lovers were still searching for a more convenient way to acquire and listen to their favorite music. In the mid-1990s, the Fraun-hofer Institute for Integrated Circuits US and Thomson developed a new digital music file for use on the personal computer known as the mp3. This new file-type has since become a household product, proof positive that the digital age continues on. The mp3 became popular for many reasons. Firstly, the mp3 file is much smaller than a traditional CD file. The mp3 analyzes the music file located on a CD and compresses the original music file by stripping away any audio information that the human ear cannot detect. Shrinking the original file allows personal computer users to store many more mp3 songs on a hard drive than CD songs. Another reason for the mp3’s popularity is its ability to recreate the same sound quality that the original CD file produces. The combination of high quality music in a very small file size was enough of a one-two punch to solidify the mp3 as a mainstream product. As the mp3 became popular, it also gave birth to an unprecedented trend in the digital age. The popularity of the mp3 became very evident with a new and still increasing trend of legally downloading music. The digital age continued to see improvements and enhancements of existing technology, as well as the introduction of new technology. Personal computers now have blazing processing speeds, and using the internet is easier than ever. Fast computer speeds and easy internet use have become a perfect fit for the tiny mp3. Computer users are now capable of using the internet to find, transfer, and legally download music. Legally downloading mp3s began strong and hasn’t shown any signs of slowing. Within a five month period in 2004, legal downloads of mp3s increased three-fold among consumers who normally purchase CDs. A notable online music store, iTunes by Apple, sold over one-quarter-million mp3s during its first day of business. The same online music store now sells an average of more than one-half-million mp3s every week. There is no question that there is a trend in legal mp3 downloading and that it is still on the rise. There are, though, three major causes contributing to this increasing trend. One cause is the commercialization of the mp3, another important cause of the trend is the mp3’s ease of use, and the third major cause is the mp3’s portability.