There is a big hype on the Web about MP3. What if you don't know anything about
MP3? What if you want a quick and easy way to learn about it? Then have I got a book for you. It
is called The Complete Idiot's Guide MP3: Music On The Internet. It was written by Rod Underhill and Nat Gerther. The book was published by Alpha Books/Que.
The book starts off on the right foot. It has a forward by former lead performer for the Byrds, Roger McGuinn. Roger put together a MP3 CD earlier this year for the MP3.COM web site.
The book is broken down into four parts. The first part is called What The Heck Is MP3, Anyway? The two chapters in this part go through the history of MP3. You learn about what compressed music is and how it can change the way the world listens to musical groups. The book also goes down memory lane a little bit to show how the MP3 format has evolved.
The second part of the book tells how to get MP3 music and the software programs that play it. The book covers four different software programs that either just plays an MP3 or helps create a new one. These programs are included on the CD-ROM.
That's right. The book comes with a CD-ROM disc. This disc has trial versions of a couple MP3 players and one or two that will produce an MP3 from other sources. The disc also has some MP3 samples. From bands like Rogues On The Run to the hot music of Creative State Of Mind, the CD has a wide variety of MP3 samples.
The third part of the book deals with making MP3's. The book tells you about ripping music (not ripping off, you idiot!). It goes through some of the digitizing equipment that you can use. It also tells about the compression ratios and how to get the most music squeezed into the tiniest amount of disk space. The third part also discusses ways to get your MP3 tunes distributed.
The fourth part of the book is all-important. The chapters in this part deal with the legal aspects of MP3. When is it legal to use someone else's music for an MP3? Can you take bits and pieces of somebody else's song and add it to your MP3? Is making an MP3 without permission just like bootlegging a CD? This section answers those questions and more as it explains the hills and valleys of the legalities of MP3 music.
There is an appendix at the back of the book (where else?) that lists the artists on the CD and give opinions on the music provided. It also gives information about where to find the particular artist or group. It even has pictures of a few artists (Ricky Lynne is a beautiful woman, not a rough looking cowboy).
The book also has an afterward in which the authors write about where they think that MP3 is headed. Some of the things that might happen are no more physical storage of music (no more losing a CD under your bed). Other options might be to subscribe to a record company to receive new songs from a band.
For those of us who want to know all about MP3 and were afraid to ask, The Complete Idiot's Guide To MP3: Music On The Internet strikes the right chord. It has all the basic information about MP3 and even has some cool music samples.