dailynews.yahoo.com
MP3 -- it has to change or die
By Robert Lemos, ZDNet
RealNetwork Inc.'s decision to support the open digital music format
known as MP3 goes a long way toward making the format the de facto
standard for the distribution of music over the Internet.
Yet MP3's future is still a point of contention.
The format -- originally co-developed by the Fraunhofer Institute of
Germany and Thomson Multimedia SA of France -- compresses music files to
one-tenth the size of that on CDs while keeping most of the quality.
At about 1MB per minute of music, that makes the files perfect for
sending over the Internet.
"I believe that so far, every week, every month, MP3 is gaining
momentum," said Dennis Mudd, CEO of MP3 software maker MusicMatch Inc.
With Real Networks' (Nasdaq:RNWK - news) 60 million RealPlayer users as
potential customers, MP3 seems to be picking up even more steam.
Formats galore
Still, despite the enthusiasm, competitors are in the wings, waiting for
MP3 to stumble. Worse yet, MP3 as a technology is starting to show its
age.
The most recent digital music format is Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT -
news)'s MS Audio. The software giant claims its format can compress
music to MP3 quality at half the file size.
In other words, downloads take only half the time, said Gary Share, lead
product manager for Windows Media at Microsoft.
"We not only do digital distribution of music but we are also doing
streaming with the same format," he said. The multimedia software,
dubbed Windows Media 4.0, is a prime competitor to the RealJukebox.
Another audio compression technology created in part by Dolby and known
as the Advanced Audio Codec, or AAC, could be a candidate to replace
MP3.
According to Liquid Audio Inc., which uses the technology to create its
LiquidTracks music files, AAC delivers better quality than MP3 at the
same size.
Consumers don't want formats
Liquid Audio has stepped back from exclusively supporting the one
format, however. In the future, it intends to support MP3 and MS Audio
as well.
"What we are trying to do is not compete format against format," said
Rick Fleischman, senior marketing director with the Internet music
software maker. "We want to be format agnostic."
That better represents the mindset of the consumer, said one analyst.
"Just like you don't pick a movie theater based on whether it is THX and
SDSS, you won't care what format your music is," said Mark Hardie,
industry analyst with market researcher Forrester Research Inc. (Nasdaq:
FORR - news) "The industry's primary concern is to remove the technical
considerations from the consumer's decision."
Moreover, the music industry wants a file format that protects data from
unauthorized copying.
Security is key, too
That means that a non-secure format won't find much use as the basis for
Internet music sales, said Hardie.
"MP3 won't be the dominant secure format for e-commerce," he said. "It
is inconceivable that MP3 remains as it is and continues to dominate."
The Secure Digital Music Initiative -- a forum set on developing a
secure specification for digital music - is meeting in London for its
third round of proposals. By June, the SDMI hopes to hash out a set of
design guidelines for portable players with anti-piracy protection.
"If so far, some people have exploited pirated offers, it's because
there was no legitimate alternative," said Leonardo Chiariglione,
chairman of the SDMI.
MP3 has to evolve
As soon as an SDMI-proposed standard is accepted, all the major players
intend to race to support it.
"The key thing for any of us is having the quality content. Without it,
none of us have a business," said Laurie Jakobsen, spokeswoman for a2b
Music. "And the major record labels have all the best content, so
whatever they come out with, we will support."
With SDMI focusing the industry's attention on making a product that can
be sold, companies will have to add security and features to keep MP3 in
the game.
"MP3 has to evolve into something secure," said Forrester's Hardie. "No
format can be static."
In a sense, it already has. AT&T's a2b Music group has based its secure
system on MP3-formatted music.
"MP3 has proved one important thing," said Jakobsen. "People want to get
their music digitally. But that's just one step. It is still premature
to say the format has won." |
