Mp3 is one of the latest things that is sure to change the way people listen to music. Until a few days back, continuous music was something people with 7- CD changers could enjoy. But CDs are costly at about 200-500 bucks a piece and audio files are so large even today you will think twice before saving it in one of these ‘large’ hard disks with 10GB capacity, even if it is available on the net for free (well, telephone bills and surfing charges are what it comes free with). The cheaper option is audio cassettes but sound quality declines and continuous music is restricted to the concept of auto-reverse. Talk about music on the go and you can talk of only quality CD music at the most and portability. Mp3 has changed all that. It is the best of both worlds.

For starters, mp3 means you can get about 200 songs for free for nothing more than the price of a free CD and the writing charges. It means 200 songs for as many bucks or less! For technicians, it means songs now take less space. It is done by cutting out all the unnecessary stuff from the music that is inaudible to the human ear. So, you have CD quality music that takes seven times lesser space, costing almost nothing and news is that the techies are ensuring that you can enjoy it on the go as well.

So, if you are late on the scene and would like to know how to get started log on to the Internet because it’s the only place on earth where you can get legal mp3s. You can find them at the Mecca of music on the net, MP3.com and also at Iisten.com which you can access through hotpot.com.

You will need some gear to play the music as well. But fear not, that is available on the net for free as well (minus the intangibles). For software, you can download WinAmp (the most popular mp3 player out there), Sonique (our choice because of the sound quality, the controls and the looks, which is the coolest one out there), Jet Audio and a host of them. They are all available at download.com and, yes again, they are for free.

Ask generation next and the response is tremendous. Says Vishal Agarwal, an engineering student, "Microsoft is out. Freeware is in. With music prices reaching the skies, mp3 is definitely welcome and the preferred way of listening to music. I can keep it in my hard disk which allows me to listen to music while doing my own work on the computer or while surfing. That it’s free is what clinches the deal in its favour." Adds Imran, "It is a boon for us cash-strapped collegians for whom music is a must. We would probably buy audio cassettes. But because of mp3 we enjoy CD quality music and the best part is that it’s free."

But all is not as hunky-dory as it sounds. You must have noticed the words ‘legal songs' before. Music piracy is an issue even here. Recently, some of the popular rock and pop groups such as Metallica and others have sued MP3.com and others for distributing their music for free without their consent. As a result, these sites have taken off all the discretionary songs from their site.

Metallica says, "These sites can’t make money on our music and not give us anything." Others view it as an important medium for talented artists who wouldn’t make it big otherwise.

But Ahmedabad has its own way of marketing mp3. Well, the wrong way. It doesn’t matter whether a song is available on the net as mp3 or not. Softwares like MP3 Compressor and Jet Audio have made the job easier.

Like the name suggests, they compress CD songs into mp3 format. So, you can take any song available off the shelf, compress it in the form of mp3, write it on a CD and sell it for whatever. This is what is happening and raids on music shops do not make a difference."

Kuruvilla, who deals with such things and also software piracy, has no guilty feelings about the whole thing. "I make a good business out of it and people don’t mind it as well. Who wouldn’t pay 150 rupees for 200 songs that would otherwise cost Rs.10,000." Hem, a collegian, agrees, "It’s the price difference that is driving the market. CD quality, price and convenience make it unbeatable. Even some of the music dealers are into this."

Mention it to the software dealers and you draw a complete blank. Chetan Anand of A to Z in Computers (Mehta Brothers) denies the existence of the whole issue of piracy. "I am not aware of any such thing. We deal with only licenced software and mostly hardware." He has also been a reporter with Aaj Tak and does not give an explanation for why only games and educational software make their way in the store. "We do deal with MS Office and Windows but only on demand. Moreover, the software we deal with are not affected by piracy." Ritesh of MCS too denies the fact. "All this activity takes place underground. Software piracy is big but as far as mp3s are concerned, the entire thing is mostly among the younger lot who are too good at it. It’s the youngsters who also know the trade very well." True enough. Only the college students seem to accept the existence of the mp3 business. Hardik Shah, one of the guys, who has got mp3s recorded this way, says, "I don’t mind getting it done because of the price difference. I got everything from Kishore Kumar to Eagles and MJ, all 200 of them, for 150. I am thinking of getting another 200 recorded." And, when it’s dirt-cheap, it’s hard to keep the flies away.

Republished from Asian Age