I didn't realize the patents on MP3 finally expired. This is really cool, but it feels like age is finally catching up to MP3. Our internet speeds are fast enough to make getting music a non-issue these days, and I imagine others are like me in trying to move their collections to lossless. But I remember discovering MP3s in 1997 and how fucking cool that was. Hope you enjoy the article, it's worth reading!
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I read this sentence and it made me sad. I am old. Great article, though! I won't miss having to download encoders for things like Audacity.Today, most people interact with music through streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube. They don’t download files, nor do they think about what format their music is in. -
Tech is also improving at unbelievable rates. My brain has a hard enough time keeping up with so much technology, to say nothing of music files. I'm still living in the past outside of owning a PS5. I couldn't even imagine music files being more convenient than mp3s were to me 20 years ago.Comment
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Their support is totally ubiquitous, so you can guarantee that most any electronic device you can copy files to will support them. If you needed lossy compression, though, I have seen reports that Opus gets better compression overall than MP3. But it's less universally supported and then there's lossless music in a age where we can effectively store it.Comment
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Now that you mention it, the majority of music on my phone is also still mp3... and that's largely because I've been listening to the same stuff for 20 years and I don't branch out because (1) pirating requires work and (2) I don't want to pay for services.
I mean we've got Koel here and that's great now but then I remember (3) I'm not in a position where I can listen to music frequently.
Adulting sucks.Comment
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I have my entire mp3 collection still, from 20+ years of varying quality on my HDD- It's a cringey nightmare that I need to organize but there's no way I'm getting rid of any of it.Last edited by Althena; 02-12-2025, 10:18 PM.Comment
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I spent so much time on my MP3 collection. I'm slowly upgrading what I have to FLAC, but some of it is going to be tough to track down. Back during the original GameSekai, one of the members there mailed me a disc by musician Eric Michelet called Hammered Dulcimer. I wish I had ripped a better MP3 copy back in the day but settled with 192kbps VBR.
I loved that album but was pretty sure I'd never find another copy again. But wouldn't you know it, someone on Soulseek had it and in FLAC.
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Who needs Trickwaters? (I'm kidding, Trickwaters we miss you bby)Comment
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