MPEG Audio Layer 3, which is what this anarchic instigator of war file format is known as, but to us it is a MP3 which is a part of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 specifications which could be used for movies. MP3's compresses CD-quality sound by a factor of 12 or more while still providing a great high quality sound to it. A MP3 is now becoming mainstream format for music like records, tapes, and CD's whic

1. Copyright in musical work - That is, lyrics and musical notes as they're written on paper. This copyright is typically owned by the songwriter or music publisher

h are currently being used, but to play MP3's a program is needed like Winamp or Microsoft's Windows Media Player. The MP3 has become the most commonly used but unofficial file format to encode digital music for downloading off the Internet. The Internet is the heart of the MP3, without it, this new format would never survive because the Net allows surfers to download songs in a matter of minutes without cost or legal implications. This compressed MP3 technology is popping up everywhere on the Internet. There is no music site that you can go to where a MP3 of some sort is not being offered, just log on and download.

Therefore the only legal way to copy, download, upload, a piece of music is to get permission first which every user forgets about or doesn't even bother. This the primary cause for the war of legal rights that goes on every day because free is good right? Wrong!

To stop MP3's you must not just look to the Internet but you must look to where the MP3 will eventually travel to, CD's. On user's hard drives, MP3's are not causing any problems because profits are not being made from there, but a CD can be copied and sold to millions of people through a small chain reaction. The RIAA has introduced "Good Business Practices" which means that CD plants should know their customer and the product they are selling. This process lead to a total of 70 734 counterfeit/pirate CDs confiscated in the first half of 1999 . The RIAA also constantly receives numerous tips every day from CD replication companies regarding suspected orders, which has lead to the prevention of close to 100 000 CD's from being manufactured and distributed in the United States alone . Adding to the pile of good news, the RIAA has settled with 3 CD-plants totaling more than $7 million for copyright infringement and all three plants have agreed to follow "Good Business Practices". Compared to 1998 midyear statistics to 1999 midyear stats, search warrants went from 55 to 71, arrests went from 174 to 438 and convictions went from 398 to 492 which means that the RIAA is slowly becoming stronger every day so copiers beware, were coming for you!

A lot of people believe that MP3's are breaking copyrights and is a part of online piracy. Online piracy is playing or downloading from the Internet songs and lyrics without authorization and without compensating the artists. Downloading even one song without permission or compensation is considered online piracy. Pirate recordings are the unauthorized duplications of copyrighted recordings, the packaging of the recording, art, label, title, sequencing, etc. are all a part of piracy. When people download MP3's from the Internet, they fail to recognize the copyrights that are in place because they are written in font sizes under 10pts or are skipped by the user. Though it is the fault of creator of the site, the creator knows that if people stop going to the site, money stops being made so the creator must hide all items that might deterrent the user from leaving the web site. The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) has two copyrights that apply to MP3's.

It isn't just that people are taking music for free or that fans of every musical taste have turned to the Internet to satisfy their need for music, its because millions and millions of dollars are being lost everyday to the people that make the music all possible. The Canadian Recording Industry Association reports that there are around 80, 000 infringing MP3 sites on the Internet and each one is carrying around 300 or more recordings , and that's just counting plain MP3 sites excluding pornographic sites with MP3's, Wares applications and game sites with MP3's etc. Major money is being lost here. The RIAA calculated that there are 120 million downloads from MP

Some common words found in the essay are:
Industry Association, Internet RIAA, Reciprocal Music, Association America, Internet Internet, CD TTR, Foe MP3's, Bryan Adams, Warlock Records, Vorton Corp, recording companies, recording industry, mp3 sites, musicguard tm, recording industry association, music internet, internet riaa, industry association, online piracy, file format, digital music, music internet riaa, recording companies artists, copyrighted music internet, illegal web sites,
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Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)