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MP3 blog

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An MP3 blog is a type of weblog in which the creator makes music files, normally in the MP3 format, available for download. They are also known as musicblogs or audioblogs. MP3 blogs have become increasingly popular since the beginning of 2003. The music posted ranges from hard-to-find rarities that have not been issued in many years to more contemporary offerings, and selections are often restricted to a particular musical genre or theme. Some MP3 blogs offer music in Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) or Ogg formats, as well as MP3.

Among the first widely known MP3 blogs were Stereogum and Fluxblog. Stereogum began as a LiveJournal blog in 2002 and covers indie rock bands as well as pop star gossip. Fluxblog was created in 2002 and continues to offer a mix of music generally centered on recent rock and pop and offering commentary on the songs, artists, the music industry and music in general. There are now thousands of MP3 blogs covering a cornucopia of musical styles.

A significant number of indie music labels, promotional agencies and hundreds of artists regularly send promo CDs to MP3 blogs in the hopes of gaining free publicity. Major labels with small acts to promote have also attempted to use MP3 blogs. In 2004, Warner Bros. gave permission for a song by their act the Secret Machines to be posted by the MP3 blog Music (For Robots). This drew attention not only for the song and the label granting permissions, but also due to the fact that several comments praising the track came from IP addresses within the Warner Bros. network. The publicity generated by MP3 blogs crossed the line from the internet to TV in early 2005, when Music (For Robots) was featured during MTV's TRL program for bringing the Hysterics, a Brooklyn rock band comprised of four 14 and 15 year-old high school students, to the network's attention.

Many MP3 blogs post copyright infringing material, though a fair number also post tracks with the granted permission of the artist and/or label that holds the copyright. Generally, MP3 blogs avoid prosecution by the copyright holders because even the most popular MP3 blogs have only thousands of regular visitors and post songs from independent labels, making them a much smaller concern than file sharing programs used to spread more popular music. Popular MP3 Blog aggregating websites such as The Hype Machine which allow for a large list of blogs to be searched for MP3s by a particular artist do however mirror the use of peer to peer file sharing programs.

Because of their emphasis on out-of-print, unsigned, or indie music, MP3 blogs generally have a negligible, if any, effect on the profits of music companies, so there is little point in engaging in a costly lawsuit. Even so, MP3 blogs often include a disclaimer stating that they are willing to remove music if the copyright owner objects, and most will gladly do so. The more professional sites almost always provide a link to where the user can buy the album the music was taken from, as well as promote live shows and raise awareness of little known acts, acting as a de facto form of free advertising. MP3 blogs have also brought wider attention to the netlabel scene.

See also

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