[im] adieu mp3

[János Sugár]

MP3, the digital audio coding format, changed the way we listen to 
music and drove the adoption of countless new devices over the last 
couple of decades. And now, it's dead. The developer of the format 
announced this week that it has officially terminated its licensing 
program.

The MP3 is dead but its effect on the digital landscape is profound. 
It enabled easier downloading of audio files during the broadband 
days of the internet and drove technical newcomers to join the cyber 
age. The iPod and iTunes both fueled a new era for Apple and led to 
the iPhone and all of its imitators that dominate the way we 
communicate today.

Unlike vinyl or the cassette, it seems unlikely that MP3 will ever 
have a nostalgic resurgence. The audio quality is trash by modern 
standards and some research has even suggested that its compression 
reinforces perceived negative emotional characteristics in musical 
instruments to the detriment of positive emotional characteristics.

In honor of the MP3, let's all listen to the song "Tom's Diner" by 
Suzanne Vega https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whbabi7KA-8  that 
Karlheinz Brandenburg used as a reference track while he was 
developing it in 1994.
Below, you'll find an embed of all the audio that's lost on the track 
when it's run through MP3 compression.
https://vimeo.com/120153502