All about MP3
In the first half of 1995 through the late 1990s, MP3 files began to spread on the Internet. MP3's popularity began to rise rapidly with the advent of Nullsoft's audio player Winamp (released in 1997), the Unix audio player mpg123 and the peer-to-peer file sharing network Napster (released in 1999). These programs made it simple for average users to play back, create, share and collect MP3s.
The small size of MP3 files has enabled widespread peer-to-peer file sharing of music, which would previously have been nearly impossible. The major record companies, who argue that such free sharing of music reduces sales, reacted to this by pursuing law-suits against Napster, which was eventually closed down, and eventually against individual users who engaged in file sharing. Napster has now returned, albeit in a slightly different form. These legal actions have had little effect on the production and distribution of MP3 audio.
Despite the popularity of MP3, online music retailers often use other proprietary formats that are encrypted (known as Digital Rights Management) to prevent users from using purchased music in ways not specifically authorised by the record companies. The record companies argue that this is necessary to prevent the files from being made available on peer-to-peer file sharing networks. However, this has other side effects such as preventing users from playing back their purchased music on different types of devices. Some services, such as eMusic, continue to offer the MP3 format, which allows users to playback their music on virtually any device.