MP3 on Your Stereo. Groovy.
by Jennifer Sullivan
12:25 p.m. 22.Jan.99.PST
Wouldn't it be great to play MP3s on a regular CD player?
GoodNoise is working on just such a technology. The Internet music label will work with Adaptec, a designer of computer components, to come up with new software that lets CD players and car stereos read MP3 files recorded on CDs.
GoodNoise (OTC: GDNO) and Adaptec said it plans to introduce the technology later this year. When it comes out, the technology could turn MP3 from a geek toy into a mainstream audio format.
MP3 -- or Motion Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer 3 -- is a way to store music and sound in a very compact format. Music fans use it to buy or trade songs directly over the Internet. MP3's main drawback, though, is that it forces people to listen to music on a PC, instead of a regular stereo. It takes quite a bit of legwork and tech savvy to convert MP3 files into a format that a regular stereo could handle.
Adaptec says its technology would eliminate the legwork. A listener would use the new software to store up to 150 MP3 files on a recordable CD in a new format. Then, any stereo with the GoodNoise-Adaptec converter software could play the disc.
GoodNoise is one of the main proponents of MP3. The Palo Alto, California, company signs up bands and distributes their music over the Internet. Because it doesn't have to deal with huge marketing campaigns and distribution costs that a traditional record label does, GoodNoise can share more of its profit with its artists.
This business model is perceived as a huge threat by the traditional music industry. Not surprisingly, the Recording Industry Association of America -- a powerful coalition of big record labels -- opposes MP3's rising popularity. But the industry seems to be losing that battle: The term MP3 is the second-most popular search term in search engines on the Net, according to Searchterms.com, a resource for webmasters. Sex, naturally, is No. 1.
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