The Creators Of The MP3 Have Terminated The Format

The era of the MP3 is officially over.

The digital world is mourning the death of one of its greatest compression formats: the MP3. The creators of the much-loved digital files have officially terminated its licensing program as developers and consumers move towards new audio coding formats and streaming technologies for their digital music fix.

The MP3’s creators at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits based their decision on the emergence of more modern formats that offer higher audio quality and lower bitrate use compared to MP3. State-of-the-art media services like streaming, radio and television broadcasting now prefer AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) or MPEG-H formats, which means that it has become largely unnecessary to license MP3 patents to software developers. 

While the MP3 is derided for it’s low quality or even emotional harmfulness to listeners, its impact on the wider musical and cultural landscape is profound. It was the major format downloaded during the era of broadband internet (with all the fears of illegal file sharing that came with it), and its use in successful products like the iPod fueled Apple’s new era, including the development of the iPhone. So next time you listen to music, spare a thought for the format that changed it all.

Read more: This delicious bag of Doritos is also an MP3 player