MusicDNA Challenge To MP3

MusicDNA is a new audio file format which will give record companies and distributors and artists a massive 32GB of information to hold, for example album art work, song lyrics, and even current, up-to-the minute Twitter and blog postings and concert listings, added with the sound file. by KenWright MusicDNA is a new audio file format which will give record companies and distributors and artists a massive 32GB of information to hold, for example album art work, song lyrics, and even current, up-to-the minute Twitter and blog postings and concert listings, added with the sound file. If enough big names come on board, it's just possible there could be a challenge to the mighty MP3, giving users a more album-like experience albeit in digital form, but more importantly, it will allow artists and record companies a license to increase their prices per download. This new format was launched by Bach Technology on Sunday at MIDEM a music-industry conference under way in Cannes, France. Unlike current alternatives to the MP3, such as Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MusicDNA is not a new audio technology, and luckily doesn't require new audio codecs, which is a big plus. Rather, as Stefan Kohlmeyer, Bach CEO, the powerhouse behind MusicDNA explained in an interview, MusicDNA is an add-on to existing audio formats. So what does MusicDNA actually do? Well, it's cleaver stuff. MusicDNA analyzes the sound file itself for certain characteristics in 13 categories for example mood and tempo. This data is then encoded as XML and is carried with the file. Content owners can also include data, for example cover art and lyrics, to be included with the file. What's more, this data can also be updated when the user is connects to the internet--for example, concert listings could be updated as soon as they're announced, complete with links to buy tickets. Bach is hoping to generate money by licensing the MusicDNA format out to software and hardware producers. There is an advantage that Bach has, as MusicDNA is not a new audio technology, MusicDNA files should work with existing hardware and software. So MusicDNA potentially could work on MP3 / MP4 players if the manufactures picked it up. The player will be able to read the audio file, and disregard all the other stuff. Because of this, MusicDNA could escape a similar fate of other music file formats such as Sony's ATRAC or even Windows Media Audio. We will wait and see. About the Author: Learn more about mp4 players. Stop by Ken Wright's site where you can find out all about cheap mp3 players and what it can do for you.

 

< Prev		Next >