Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: MOTM

Although I would never consider MP3s as a substitute for a lossless
medium such as a CD, (remembering of course that much recording is
done at 24 bits, so it's somewhat questionable in this day and age
to actually consider a CD as lossless,) MP3s are great in some
applications. They are great for listening in your car, where the
noise floor is often so high that the losses are unnoticeable. They
are also a great format for portability. I listen to my iPod often
while away on business trips, etc. I also often listen to CDs in
MP3 format at the office, where I'm too busy to listen critically
and really can't devote the attention to listen critically anyway.

MP3s are also a great promotional tool. I often listen to MP3 clips
online before deciding to purchase a given CD. When the music
available on radio is so limited and even XM doesn't provide that
much of the kind of music I like to listen to, previewing new groups
in MP3 format is definitely preferable to buying a CD without ever
hearing anything on it.

For instance I bought a CD from listmember Eric Frampton's group
Agent Cooper because I liked the MP3 sound clips online.

And, like it or not, most of the listening public cannot even tell
the difference between an MP3 and the lossless version it came from.

Any alternative to mass distribution by the few remaining record
companies is certainly welcome.