A recently developed audio file format developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG), the same group that produced the MP3 format. For more information see: http://www.aac-audio.com. AAC is used by Apple for its iTunes Music Store downloads, in conjunction with an Apple proprietary DRM scheme called Fairplay.

A company that measures radio usage and produces lists of the most popular Internet radio stations and networks. URL: http://www.arbitron.com.

Feature offered with MusicMatch's Platinum radio service, formerly called "Artist On-Demand." Artist Radio lets you play contiguous blocks of music by a given artist. It does not, however, let you choose which specific songs get played, or the order in which they get played. As such, it is a near on-demand service which, for less money, provides an alternative to online jukebox services.

U.S. based association that licenses public performances of copyrighted works and collects and distributed royalties for these performances.

Audio file formats specify how sound information is stored in digital files. File formats can differ in a number ways, including how they store audio information, whether they compress that information, and what software and hardware can be used with them. Popular audio file formats include MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Player audio format).

Software that lets you play audio files on your computer—also referred to as a media player. Popular audio players include Musicmatch Jukebox, Winamp, RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, and iTunes. Some of these players handle video as well.

The capacity of an Internet connection as measured in kilobits per second (thousands) or megabits per second (millions).

The amount of data that your Internet connection can deliver, measured in kilobits (thousands of bits) or megabits (millions of bits) per second. Bit rate can also refer to the quality of a digitally encoded sound recording. A recording encoded at a bit rate of 128 kilobits per second (Kbps) will contain twice the information, and thus better sound quality, than a recording encoded at a bit rate of 64 kilobits per second (Kbps). To receive streaming music, your Internet connection must have a bit rate that equals or exceeds the bit rate of the files being delivered.

Like ASCAP, BMI is a U.S.-based performing rights organization that licenses public performances of copyrighted works and collects and distributes royalties for these performances.

Stores with physical locations that you can visit.

Internet connections capable of rapid data transfer. Cable and DSL connections are regarded as "broadband" connections whereas low-speed dial-up connections are not.

When a streaming music file is delivered to an audio player, the player needs to have a certain amount of that file available in a local buffer (or storage area) in order for the music to play. Buffering is the process of ensuring that this requirement is met. Frequent buffering messages and music interruptions occur when your Internet connection can't deliver the music file fast enough to keep up with your player.

To create a music CD by copying digital music files to a blank CD. This requires a writable CD-ROM drive. See also: Rip.

Internet connections using a cable modem and a coaxial cable, often using the same line used to provide Cable TV service. Like DSL, cable access is a high-speed or broadband connection.

Ad-hoc panels appointed by the Librarian of Congress to make recommendations concerning issues that arise concerning copyright royalty payments and distributions. Recent CARP recommendations dealing with royalties owed by Internet radio broadcasters were the focus of much attention and controversy. More information is available at: http://www.copyright.gov/carp.

An Internet-based service used by numerous media players to identify music files being played and display track and album information in the player. This widely used database contains more than 1.8 million CDs and 20 million songs and is owned by the company Gracenote. For more information see: http://www.gracenote.com/gn_products/cddb.html.

CD quality refers to the audio quality of music CDs you buy in the store. Technically, this means that music is digitally sampled at a rate of 44,100 samples per second with a bit depth of 16 bits (each sample contains 16 bits of information) in two separate channels. Most Internet-delivered music is not of CD quality. Improving codecs, though, promise to change this. "Near CD quality" is a term used by Internet music services to denote higher quality audio streams that fall short of CD quality.

Codec is short for "Coder/Decoder." An audio codec is software that compresses and encodes audio data into a particular audio file format. Improving codecs have made it possible to deliver higher quality sound using smaller files and lower bandwidth Internet connections.

The process of analyzing the preferences or actions of a group of people and using them to supply individuals with personalized recommendations (e.g., people who bought this CD also bought these CDs).

Controversial revision (1998) of U.S. copyright law which addressed issues raised by digital technology. These included "fair use" of copyrighted materials in the digital environment, circumvention of copyright protection systems, and Internet service provider liability for copyright violations.

Files that are copied to your computer and available for local use and playback, regardless of whether or not you are connected to the Internet. See also tethered downloads.

Services that allow you to download music files to store on your computer. See also tethered downloads.

The process and technologies used by content owners to control who gets access to their digital content and what can be done with that content. Major label download stores use DRM to restrict what you can do with the music.

DSL is a technology for bringing high-bandwidth connectivity to homes and small businesses over existing telephone lines. DSL is considered a form of broadband.

Fair use refers to situations where limited copying or distribution of published works without the author's permission is allowed under copyright law. Examples include the use of excerpts for critique or review and limited use by teachers for educational purposes.

Controversial services that facilitate the sharing of music files over the Internet (often in violation of copyright law), including the original incarnation of Napster and its successors, Kazaa, eDonkey, Morpheus, and others.

When network administrators restrict user access to certain Internet resources, including Web sites. This happens in the workplace and in certain schools and libraries as well.

Security software used to regulate computer traffic going in and out of a private network—such as in a company, school, or home—and protect network resources from unauthorized uses. Firewalls can present a barrier to music streaming if they are not configured appropriately.

On behalf of music publishers, HFA issues licenses and collects and distributes royalties for the mechanical reproduction of copyrighted recordings. This is in contrast to agencies such as ASCAP and BMI, which license the performance rights to copyrighted recordings.

Independent record labels.

That portion of the Web that is not visible to major search engines like Google, which are limited in the types of content they can index. This includes content stored in databases that are accessible only via a specific search interface.

Another type of broadband connection available to Internet users. Eclipsed in popularity by cable modem and DSL connections, ISDN is an older technology that is the only broadband option in some areas.

A collection of radio stations offered through a single organization and accessible from a single dedicated player interface.

Companies that sell Internet access to consumers and businesses.

Once the most popular peer-to-peer (P2P) file-trading service, Kazaa is currently being eclipsed by a newer service, eDonkey.

Feature on Amazon.com that lets customers create annotated lists of any product sold on their site (e.g. books, CDs). Customers are free to create themes or topics for their lists (e.g., my favorite blues records).

Otherwise known as the "Big 5," these companies dominate the recorded music industry. They are BMG Entertainment, EMI Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Brothers, and Universal Music Group.

Data that describes an information object (e.g., book, CD, music file). In the case of a music file, this would include information such as song title, album name, genre of music, and date published.

MP3 is a popular audio file format used to store music files on computers. Its use of compression techniques to shrink the size of music files played a big role in the evolution of digital music on the Internet. MP3 stands for Motion Picture Experts Group, Audio Layer 3.

A newer version of the MP3 format that uses improved file compression techniques to store an equivalent music file in half the space that would be required for an MP3 file.

The original peer-to-peer (P2P) file trading service, created by college student Shawn Fanning and responsible for introducing millions to file trading. Napster was shutdown in 2001 as the result of legal action by the music industry. The name and trademark are currently owned by Roxio Inc., which released a Napster-branded online music service in October 2003. This service is discussed in Chapter 14, Napster and other On-Demand Services.

Refers to personalized Internet radio services that allow you to control the overall content of a playlist by specifying the music you want to hear. They fall short of providing full playlist control in that you cannot control the exact composition and sequence of the playlist.

Etiquette for Internet users. This most often refers to appropriate behavior when using e-mail or participating in online communities. To find Web sites with information about Netiquette, consult the Google directory entry at: http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/Etiquette.

Service which lets you play or download any songs or albums you wish, in whatever order you wish. These include online jukebox and downloading services.

An on-demand music service that works like a jukebox: select the songs you want to play and they will be streamed via the Internet to your computer and stereo. They are sometimes called "streaming services." In order to play songs with an online jukebox you have to be connected to the Internet. This is in contrast to a downloading service, which allows you to download the music files to your own computer for offline use. Many music services combine an online jukebox service with a downloading service.

A networking technology that allows individual computer users to share resources with one another. P2P technology is at the heart of file-trading services like Kazaa and Morpheus, and before that Napster.

The trade group and lobbying arm of the U.S. record industry best known for its aggressive tactics in fighting music piracy. RIAA also issues gold and platinum album awards to recognize high-selling albums.

To "rip" a CD is to copy the audio tracks from a CD onto a computer's hard drive. A Ripper is a piece of software that does this.

SESAC is the third major performing rights organization, along with ASCAP and BMI, which licenses public performances of copyrighted works and collects and distributes royalties for these performances.

Some audio player software gives you the option of customizing the look and feel of the player. By selecting a "skin" you can give your audio player a very specific look or personality.

Unsolicited commercial, "junk" e-mail that clogs e-mail inboxes, a serious problem on the Internet.

Software loaded on your computer—often without your knowing about it—that "phones home" to its maker and reports on your Web surfing activities. Spyware gets loaded when you use some of the file trading applications, such as Kazaa.

A stream is an audio or video file that is delivered to your computer over the Internet and played as it is received. To play a stream you must be connected to the Internet. A download, by contrast, is a file that gets stored locally on your computer. Downloads are available for playback regardless of whether or not you are connected to the Internet.

Downloaded files whose usage is restricted by Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology. For example, a music file could be played only on the computer to which it was downloaded. Or the file may "expire" after a certain date, or require an active subscription for it to be usable.

An audio file format developed by Microsoft and used by a number of major label download stores to deliver DRM-protected music.

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