Do you know what MP3 is? If you have checked out of the technological advancement that has taken the music world by storm after they came out with CDs, then you probably have heard the term but know very little else. To those somewhat technologically challenged, MP3 is one of the acronyms that are akin to the mysteries that were previously only held by the techno geek world and those who would build computers out of spare parts during their weekends.

MP3 is little more than a term that denotes an audio format. Specifically, MP3 speaks of the kind of compression a sound experiences when it is stored on a computer. While it is possible to store sounds on the computer in uncompressed form, they are generally found in files too large to be realistically stored away. Add to this the fact that a song is made up of a large number of sounds, and it makes sense that it was time to find an audio compression format that would be useful for computer users who frequently download music.

In 1994 and 1995 MP3 finally became widely available to computer users who eagerly learned about the many MP3 downloads that would now become the norm as well as MP3 music, and the sites that offer them. Since that time the technology has gradually been improved and even gave rise to one of the largest lawsuits in entertainment history when Napster was sued for copyright infringement for offering free MP3 downloads of a large number of songs. Free MP3 tunes are not new, of course, and in the beginning it seemed like a good idea to spread the tunes via a free MP3 music download which might then later translate into a purchase of the tunes by the end user.

Naturally, if free MP3 music is available, why would anyone pay for it? Today, a free MP3 download is still sometimes offered of tunes that are considered to be in the public domain, while other free MP3s may be little teaser bits that artists post on their own websites to stimulate interest in their upcoming albums. Free MP3 music downloads can be played back on a large number of devices which will then decode the sound file and permit for the playing of the sound files. Many computers now come preloaded with software that permits for an MP3 download, its storage, as well as its playing.