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This page contains lots of informations and resources related specifically to the audio coding format known as MP3 (aka MPEG Audio Layer 3). For MP3 Software Players check our Audio Players page. Other MPEG Audio resources are listed on the Audio and AAC pages.

And remember, downloading or streaming music from the internet is illegal unless the copyright owner explicitly allows free downloads. Please respect Intellectual Property Rights.

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MP3 Overview

More general MPEG Audio overviews can be found on the Audio page.

• Top 10 Things Everyone Should Know About MP3 by Michael Robertson

A layman introduction to MP3.
• What is MPEG Audio Layer-3 ? at Fraunhofer Institut

A presentation of MP3 by the very people who invented this compression format.
• More information about MPEG Layer 3 at MPEG Layer 3 Sounds

Lots of practical informations on how to produce MP3 files using various software tools.

RIAA & SDMI

• RIAA Online

The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) represents the major Labels.
• RIAA on MP3

On this page you'll even find a free MP3 track offered by RIAA. Who would want to pay for that kind music anyway!
• Soundbyting by RIAA

The RIAA campain against MP3 piracy.
• SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative)

The (in)famous anti-MP3 Initiative, sponsored by RIAA. Membership: $10,000/year.
• Latest SDMI news by RIAA
• Portable Device Specification -Part 1, Version 1.0 (pdf format) by SDMI

The official SDMI specification.

MP3 FAQs (Answers to Frequently Asked Questions)

More general MPEG Audio FAQs can be found on the Audio page.

• MP3 for Beginners at mp3.com

Start by that is you have never heard of MP3.
• Frequently Asked Questions about MPEG Audio Layer-3 at Fraunhofer Institut

Older version of the FAQ still available here.
• The ABCs of MP3s at Xing

This MP3 FAQ is mostly aimed at advertising Xing products.

MP3 Books

• MP3: The Definitive Guide by Scot Hacker, O'Reilly 2000
  Introduces the power-user to just about all aspects of MP3 technology.
• MP3 and the Digital Music Revolution by John Hedtke, Top Floor Publishing 1999

A good MP3 user's guide. Contains reviews, guides and useful information about the most common MP3 software. Recommanded for computer litterate music lovers and musicians. This book contain almost no technical information about the MP3 technology.
• MP3 Power! with Winamp by Justin Frankel, Greely, Sawyer, Muska & Lipman 1999. Book companion website: mp3power.com.

This MP3 book is targeted to developers, webcasters and advanced MP3 users, but it is certainely very useful to the average MP3 music fan. A good source of technical and practical information on the MP3 technology and tools.
• I Want My MP3 by Bill Mann, MacGraw-Hill 1999.

Sort of MP3 for Dummies, this MP3 book is targeted to the average MP3 user. No technical information, but some practical advices on how to Download, Rip, and Play MP3 Music.
• MP3 For Dummies by Andy Rathbone, IDG 1999.
• The MP3 and Internet Audio Handbook by Bruce Fries, TeamCom Books 1999.

Free and Legal MP3 Music

The following websites provide free downloadable MP3 music. Respect the Intellectual Property Rights and purchase the music if you can, to support the artists.

Note that downloading or streaming music from the internet is illegal unless the copyright owner explicitly allows free downloads.

• AudioGalaxy

Many unsigned bands. Lots a good MP3 music. Band reviews and images too.
• mp3.com

Lots of good unsigned bands sorted by genres. You can buy CD's that have audio tracks and MP3 files of the artists.
• amazon.com

Free MP3 downloads of selected titles.
• unsigned-music.com

A large database of unsigned artists.
• WorldWideBands

A large database of unsigned artists.
• RioPort by Diamond Multimedia

Looking for ways to feed your Rio ?
• MusicMatch

Not just music: you can also view the cover art, lyrics, notes, and artist bios on your MusicMatch Jukebox.
• IUMA

One of the pioneers in the world of internet music distribution. Free music from unsigned artists available in various audio formats.
• emusic

Used to be known as GoodNoise.
• Nordic Online Radio
• UBL - The Ultimate Band List
• MP3Extreme
• Hi-Test Records
• SonicX (new)

indie, post rock, punk, ambient, electronica, house, dub, jungle, gothic, noise.
• CdDebut.com (new)
• LouderNet.com (new)

Chicago Punk Rock Online
• MP3.LoudFactory.com (new)

Site looks ugly with Netscape!
• Progressive Music Archive (new)

An interesting MP3 music site hosted by DKP/ML, the Communist and Marxist/Leninist Parti of Denmark!
• FranceMP3.com (in French) (new)
• NarcoPop

A catalog of many site where you can find legal MP3 music.
• MP3.Box.sk

A catalog of many site where you can find legal MP3 music.
• mIRC-X

 

Commercial MP3 Music

The following websites provide commercial downloadable MP3 music. Respect the Intellectual Property Rights and purchase the music if you can, to support the artists.

• MusicMaker.com
• eClassical.com

 

MP3 Search Engines

Those search engines can be used to locate MP3 audio files available from the Net.

Note that downloading or streaming music from the internet is illegal unless the copyright owner explicitly allows free downloads.

• Gnutella
• Scour.com
• Imesh.com
• Listen.com
• Napster
• FAST MP3 Search

Search for MP3 files using Fast FTP search (now a division of Lycos).
• MusicSeek
• AudioFind
• Scour.Net
• PalaVista
• Oth.Net
• AudioFind.com
• MP3site
• MP3search.nu
• Mirc-X MP3 Search
• Omni Search
• 2look4.com
• Simon1.net

Lists of search engines and Meta search engines

• MetaIQ.com
• MP3now
• Findtunes.com
• Acid Search
• MPeX.net
• MP3.com
• MP3now

MP3 Newsgroups

Note that downloading or streaming music from the internet is illegal unless the copyright owner explicitly allows free downloads.

• alt.music.mp3
• alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.d
• alt.binaries.sounds.mp3
• alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.1950s
• alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.1960s
• alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.1970s
• alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.1980s
• alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.1990s
• alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.bootlegs
• alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.ninja.music
• alt.binaries.country.mp3
• alt.binaries.mp3.bootlegs
• alt.binaries.mp3.zappa

Portable MP3 Players

Small portable solid-state devices that can store and play MP3 music.

Purchase Portable MP3 Players and accessories

The best on-line stores for MP3 products.

• MP3shopping.com
• OneWheel.com
• easybuy2000.com

MP3 Car Players

Those devices can store and play hundreds of hours of MP3 music in your car.

• Empeg Car Player by Empeg

The best! Linux-based MP3 car player. Up to 28.2Gb of disk storage, with approximately 17 hours of CD-quality stereo audio per Gb!
• MP3Kit Trackz! Player

Can use any IDE LBA hard drive 500Mb to 137Gb.

CDROM MP3 Car Player (no hard drive)
• MP3Car

Technical infos on how to build an MP3 car player yourself.
• MP3god by Scott Kincaid

A DOS-based MP3 car player.
• MP3 Car Player Guide at MP3.com

Here you'll find a very complete list of MP3 Car Players.

MP3 Portals

Links to some of the most interesting MP3 sites.

MP3 Technical Resources

More general MPEG Audio resources can be found on the Audio page.

• MPEG Audio Layer 3 at Fraunhofer Institut

The reference on MPEG Layer 3 and other audio compression technologies.
• MP3'Tech by Gabriel Bouvigne

One of the best sites to find technical informations on the MPEG audio standards (MP3, AAC). Check out the Overview of the MP3 standard, a short overview of the techniques used in MPEG Layer 3 audio compression.
• MPEG Layer 3 Sounds by Stede Bonnett

This site contains many technical resources and infos about MP3 encoders and lots of practical informations on how to produce MP3 files using various software tools.
• The ID3 standards group by Martin Nilsson

ID3v2 is a tagging mechanism commonly used with MP3 files. See also this article on MP3.com.
• MPEG Audio headers guide by Predrag Supurovic

A description of MPEG audio frame headers.
• The use of multirate filter banks for coding of high quality digital audio by Th. Sporer, K. Brandenburg, and B. Edler (postscript)

Describes the filterbank used in MP3 and gives an algorithm for a fast implementation of the MDCT (modified discrete cosine transform).
• MPEG Resources by The Realm of Soft Delusions

Access to MP3 Encoders and players for various platforms.
• A DSP-based MP3 player high-fidelity MPEG-Audio over TCP/IP networks by Björn Wesén
• Snom AG

A compliant (fully accurate) VHDL implementation of MP3 to make custom MP3 DSP.
• Brett's MP3 Decoder Review by Brett Bennett

A comprehensive review of MPEG audio Decoder Chips and related chips such as Audio DACs and Micro-controllers.

MP3 Test Bitstreams

Test bitstreams are specially designed to help verify that an MPEG decoder works properly. Conformance bitstreams are the official test bitstreams provided by the MPEG committee.

Only Layer 3 test bitstreams are listed here. Other MPEG Audio test bitstreams can be found on the Audio page.

• MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 test bitstreams at Fraunhofer Institut

MP3 Software (public-domain or free)

Only software supporting Layer 3 is listed here. MPEG Audio software that do not support Layer 3 can be found on the Audio page.

Many sites with pointers to MPEG audio players are listed on our Audio Players Page. Most of the software listed here have source code available.

Before copying or using the following software, please check their copyright and license informations.

• UsE! by a Hungarian MP3 fanatic

A user oriented MP3 encoding guide. Seems to contain interesting information about the most popular MP3 encoders.
• MPEG audio source code page at MP3'Tech

Many MP3 software listed below are also available there.
• MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 Audio reference software and data (with source code) at Universitaet Hannover

This is the reference software produced by the MPEG Committee as draft of the Technical Report (Part-5 of the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 standards).
• MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 Audio Layer 1,2,3 reference encoder and decoder (with source code)

This is distribution 10 of the reference software produced by the MPEG Committee.
• JavaLayer - Java MP3 Player Project (with source code)

Open Source 100% JAVA library that decodes/plays/converts MP3 in real-time. Supports Layer I, Layer II and III. The (simple) player supports streaming. It runs nice with ShoutCast servers.
• LAME 3.0 MP3 encoder (with source code)

LAME is a patch for the ISO MP3 encoder source that increases sound quality and makes it 5x faster.
• x11amp (with source code)

MP3 player for Linux and Unix.
• MPEG-1 Audio Layer 1, 2 & 3 encoder and decoder (with source code) at Fraunhofer Institute

Decoder is not real-time on most machines. See also these IIs sources.
• Canna MP3 Maker by Gabriele Cannata

A free MP3 encoder.
• BladeEnc MP3 Encoder by Tord Jansson

A free MP3 encoder.
• 8hz-mp3 encoder (with source code) at 8Hz Productions

An optimized MP3 encoder derived from the official ISO source code, much faster and supports more platforms. 8hz-mp3 is free. Mirrors here.
• Plugger+, the Mp3 nKoder by Alberto Demichelis

A free MP3 encoder.
• MP3 Studio for Linux (with source code) by Alex Lam

A Tcl/Tk front-end to the Fraunhofer MP3 encoder and decoder.
• MPEG-1 Audio Layer 2 & 3 player (mpeg3play) (with source code) by Johan Hagman

mpeg3play is an optimized version of the MPEG reference software that decodes Layer 3 in real-time (no graphic interface). Runs on several flavors of Unix and other platforms (also here).
• mp3asm (with source code) by Oliver Fromme
• Xaudio

MP3 decoding engine and development toolkit. One of the fastest MP3 engine. Supports MPEG Layers 1, 2 and 3. Runs on a many platforms and processors (Windows, Mac, WinCE, Linux, Unix, BeOS, Embedded systems, Set-top Boxes etc.). Xaudio licenses its MP3 libraries for use in commercial MP3 hardware and software products.
A tool to find errors in MPEG audio (.mp3) files, fix broken mp3 files, cut and re-assemble mp3 files.
• ampRadio (with source code) by Geoffrey J. Elliot

Streaming mpeg server (and toolkit) to distribute music using HTTP streams. Most major players, including WinAmp and NaD support receiving music streams from ampRadio Server. Alternate ampRadio page.
• mp3tag by Marek Blaszkowski

An MP3 TAG Editor for X11 (Web page in Polish but english version of software is available).
• Splay (with source code) by Woo-jae Jung

An MPEG-1,2 layer 1,2,3 and Wave player for Linux! Derived from maplay 1.2+ for Win95.
• mpg123 (with source code) by Oliver Fromme (see also this page)

A fast, free and portable MPEG audio player. The fastest MP3 decoder with source code available.
• A DSP-based MP3 player high-fidelity MPEG-Audio over TCP/IP networks (with source code) by Björn Wesén
• A Linux Player For MPEG Audio (Tk3Play) (with source code) by Brian Foutz at Cornell University

A version of maplay with an X-Window (Tk) front-end. Supports Layers 1, 2, and 3.
• MPEG-1 Audio Layer 2 & 3 for Windows 95 / NT 3.51 / NT 4.0 (museArc) by Uli Walther & Stefan Kraus at Universitat Karlsruhe.

Check the Manual (in german).
• Maplay 1.2+ for Win32 (with source code) by Jeff Tsay

Nice GUI, plays Layer 1, 2 & 3.
• Audio Mpeg Player (the original AMP!) (with source code) by Tomislav Uzelac at University of Zagreb

Many existing MP3 players have been derived originally from AMP (the most famous example is winamp).
• Amp11 (with source code)

Written on C++ with some asm optimizations.
• FreeAMP (with source code)

MP3 player for Linux and Win32 based on Xing source code.
• MP3Ext by Michael Mutschler

MP3Ext is an extension for the Windows Internet Explorer that adds MP3-specific informations to the properties-menu of MP3-files: playlength, bitrate, sample-frequency, and the ID3-Tag, if the file has got one.
• Vamp by Michel Pollet

An MPEG Layer 3 Audio player for PowerMac based on amp.
• flipTech Visual Encoder & Decoder by flipino

Visual Encoder and Visual Decoder are Windows95/NT frontends for the popular L3ENC and L3DEC utilities.
• MPeck MPEG Layer 3 Encoder for PPC Macintosh by Rafael W. Luebbert
• Resonate by Burkey consultants

A streaming Layer 2 and 3 MPEG player (also here).
• MPEG Audio software at MPEG Central

MP3 Tools (rippers, converters, CD burners)

Those are commercial tools (source code not available). Some of them have a Freeware version.

• MusicMatch.com

ripper, converter, player
• Real Jukebox

ripper, converter, player
• Music Exchage (JRiver Media Jukebox)

ripper, converter, player
• AudioGrabber

ripper, converter, player
• Waver

ripper, converter, player
• White Tiger Studio Software

ripper, converter, player
• MPAction MP3 Tools

ripper, converter, player
• Audio Writer

ripper, converter, player, CD burner
• Advanced Encode Decode Tools

ripper, converter, player
• AltOMP3

ripper, converter, player
• ACXtractor

ripper, converter
• AudioActive Production Studio

ripper, converter
• blaze Media Pro

ripper, converter, player
• CDBurner.com

CD burner
• MP3-converter.com

List of MP3 rippers, converters, encoders, CD burners etc.
• MP3 encoder (MP3ENC) at Fraunhofer Institute

Check this User's Guide.

MP3 Hardware Resources

• Visual System One MPLAYER3 by Yao Jia

MP3 decoder boards.
• MEPAS by Michael Lee Yohe

MEPAS stands for Multifunctional Expandable Portable Audio System.
• A DSP-based MP3 player high-fidelity MPEG-Audio over TCP/IP networks by Björn Wesén
• MP3 Hardware Guide at MP3.com

Here you'll find a very complete list of MP3 hardware products, including portable MP3 Players.

MP3 Patents and Licensing

• Business Answers MPEG Layer-3 by Fraunhofer-IIS

Answers to the most frequently asked questions about licensing MP3 technology and overview of the patent and licensing situation for MP3 encoders and decoders. Older documents: MP3 Licensing FAQ (PDF format) by Thomson and MP3 patent and licensing situation from Fraunhofer-IIS.
• MPEG, Patents, and Open Source by Eric D. Scheirer

A very interesting white-paper about the subject of patents and IP in MPEG in general and MP3 in particular.
• Patents and MP3 by Gabriel Bouvigne on MP3'Tech
• MPEG Layer 3 and Software Patents by Maciej Stachowiak on Slashdot.org
• How Open of a Standard is MP3? by Justin Couch on mp3.com
• Fraunhofer Lowers Patent Boom on MP3 Software Developers by Michael Robertson on mp3.com