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 audio blogs or audioblogs. MP3 blogs have become increasingly popular since the beginning of 2003. The music posted is normally hard-to-find, often has not been issued in many years, and selections are often restricted to a particular musical sub-genre or theme. In 2004, several MP3 blogs began to offer Podcasts as well as MP3s.
The first widely known MP3 blog was Flux Blog, which was created in early 2003 by Matthew Perpetua, and continues to offer an eclectic mix of music generally centered on recent rock and pop and offering commentary on the songs, artists, the music industry and music in general. Realizing that he was undoubtedly in violation of musical copyrights, he sought to defuse possible lawsuits by including a link at Amazon.com for every song to encourage users to buy the album.
There are now dozens of MP3 blogs covering a cornucopia of musical styles. Some of the most popular are Said The Gramaphone, Teaching The Indie Kids To Dance, 3hive, GabbaPod, Cocaine Blunts, Soul Sides, *Sixeyes, and Tofu Hut.
MP3 blogs have managed to avoid prosecution by the holders of musical copyrights (that is the blogs that host their songs, there are a number of popular blogs that deal nearly completely with free and legal downloads only) through a number of methods, perhaps the most important of which is that even the most popular MP3 blogs have only thousands of regular visitors, making them much less of a concern than file sharing programs. Besides this, by concentrating on music that is either no longer available new or has not been reissued in many years, they do not affect the profits of companies so there is little point in engaging in a costly lawsuit. MP3 blogs often include a disclaimer stating that they are willing to remove music if the copyright owner objects, and have been known to do so. They normally either provide a link to where the user can buy the album the music was taken from, or periodically remind the user to buy the music. Also, through raising awareness of little known acts, they can act as a form of free advertising.
This last point is emphasized by the blogs themselves. MP3 blogs constitute a valuable marketplace. A number of indie music companies have begun to send promo CDs to them 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. was found to have sent tracks by their act Secret Machines to a large number of sites. Nevertheless, the ultimate fate of MP3 blogs is uncertain.
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