the End of an Era: MP3 is Dead
The digital audio format that changed the way we listen to music is officially dead - MP3 goes into history, writes Oded Kariti on his website. The format wasn’t terminated from analysts, reporters or users, but from those who have created it. In the early 80s, the Fraunhofer Institute began developing the MP3 format, and now, more than two decades after its inception, the same German research institute that funded the MP3, dropped ownership of it. Although millions of sites across the world wrote that MP3 is dead as a format, the industry is much more optimistic. Namely, Oded Kariti and other tech experts, agree that the termination of the licensing program doesn't mean that the format is dead. As an example, Oded Kariti compares MP3 with GIF. The licensing patent for GIF expired more than 10 years ago, but the format is still being used, in fact, it is now more widespread than ever before. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the MP3 will follow this example and return to its glory days from the beginning of the new millennium.
The MP3 is still popular with consumers, and this won’t affect its users. But, over time, the format will be outpaced by more efficient audio codecs with more advanced features, and only then will the MP3 be forgotten. For now, MP3 is still the dominant download format, but for streaming, services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal use other formats. Its successor AAC or Advanced Audio Coding format is already the default audio format for YouTube, iTunes, and other music-streaming services. There are also other better and higher quality formats, although less-known like OGG, AAC, and FLAC
In practical terms, this means that whenever someone ripped an MP3 from a CD or bought from an online store, the company involved paid a licensing fee to Fraunhofer. Now that the company terminated the license, they won't have to do this anymore. In other words, the MP3s will still continue to work as it always has. Bernhard Grill, the director of s the Fraunhofer Institute, who was also on the team that worked on the MP3 format explained that they’re dropping ownership because now there are better and higher quality format. They are already working on the AAC format, which has become the de facto standard for digital music tracks or music videos for both computers and mobile devices.
According to Oded Kariti, compared to the MP3, the AAC has better effects and better functionality. The Fraunhofer Institute helped in the development of the AAC format as well, and its improvement to a level where it is today. That could mean that the German developers are actually in charge of the whole situation. Because of its impact on the digital music landscape, the MP3 won’t soon be forgotten. MPS ushered the music industry into the digital age, fueled billions of portable audio downloads and set the foundation for an era that brought us the iPod and other modern forms of music listening.
Even though MP3 is dead, its effect on the digital landscape will never be forgotten. This digital audio coding format changed the way we all listen to music, enabled easier downloading of audio files during the broadband days of the internet and drove technical newcomers like Oded Kariti to join the cyber age.
