211; that is, take an audio CD track and turn it into an MP3 - the tracks and put them on their website for anyone to download. The band could also put their songs on a large, well known website such as mp3.com which specializes in the distribution of legal MP3 audio files. By doing this, the band is allowing their music to be heard easily, quickly, and inexpensively all over the world. For music lovers around the globe, MP3s allow easy access to new music. They can easily get on the Internet and find out about new bands and their music. They can also find songs by their favorite bands that had been previously been unreleased or bootlegs from concerts. When the MP3 standard was first developed, it was solely used on computers. One could download the music, but then be stuck listening to it only there. Then Diamond, a well-known manufacturer of computer multimedia devices, invented the Rio. The Rio was a small MP3 player much like a Walkman. The device connected to a computer and the MP3s were transferred to it. This allowed the MP3s to be taken away from the computer and on the road for the first time. The worst part of MP3s is the fact that it is very easy to use them for bad instead of good. Many users do pirate the MP3s by copying tracks from copyrighted artists. This gives the format a bad name and causes bands to lose money. In fact, when the Rio was released, the Recording Industry Association of America sued Diamond because of the possibility of users playing illegal tracks on the player. This was very unfortunate for the company, but thankfully, the court ruled that they could release the player anyway. The MP3 compression format is one of the greatest computer and Internet technologies to come along in a while. The quality is fabulous and the size is awesome considering this fact. This format benefits all who take advantage of it, including bands and listeners alike. ...
