You can identify MP3 files by the "mp3" extension.  They are automatically recognized by the Windows 98 operating system.  The compression ratio and high sound quality of a MP3 make it ideal for the Internet medium.  On the Internet, millions of people download and trade MP3s of their favorite artist's songs and albums everyday.

Is MP3 a legal format?
Yes, MP3 is simply a file format and is very legal.  The act of selling, trading and listening to MP3s falls under normal US copyright law.  It is legal to trade a MP3 file if the song's copyright holder has granted permission to download and play the song.  For example, all MP3.com artists have agreed to distribute their music to visitors of the website.  It is illegal to sell, trade or listen to MP3s if the artist hasn't given express, written permission to do so.

Truly legal MP3s are rare and often the songs are from lesser known artists.  Because of these difficulties, most MP3 trading on the Internet is technically "illegal".  Reality dictates that downloading and playing MP3s is not a serious offense that warrants any sort of prosecution or investigation.  In many ways, MP3 trading is likened to the copying of movies or television programs.  Many search engines and software utilities have been forged to help MP3 users trade song files.  These search engines and utilities are often backed by large companies, who don't seem to be afraid of the medium's controversial nature. 

In general, if you simply listening to songs for personal use, there is no real problem.  If you start using MP3 to make bootleg CD's, or begin selling them in bulk, you will start to find trouble.

How does one listen to MP3s?
There are many different ways of listening to MP3s.  In fact, the process can be as simple or as sophisticated as the user desires. 

In the most simple case, no special software is needed to play or download MP3s.  Any web browser is able to download a MP3 file and the Windows Media Player, which comes as part of the Windows operating system, is capable of playing them.  However, most MP3 users do not find these basic tools adequate. 

Most MP3 users prefer a customized MP3 player such as WinAMP and download utilities such as GoZilla, Getright or the new Napster.  These programs make the experience of listening to your MP3s a little more pleasant and prevent headaches often associated with sorting and playing more than one MP3 file. 

In general, MP3 players are practically identical to other multimedia players such as the Real Audio player or Apple's QuickTime.  Files can be played by either double clicking on files themselves or by launching the player and selecting a given song as if it were a word processing document or any other file.

Alternatively, you can take your MP3 files with you, just about anywhere.  Portable MP3 players are now more popular than ever.  You can buy them at most major electronic stores and countless places online.  To learn more about these players you can read the web article, Comparing Portable MP3 Players.

How does one find MP3s?
MP3s can be found all over the web.  As mentioned above, MP3s can always be found at large MP3 portal sites such as MP3.com or MP3now.com or here on MP3collecting.com.  However, such sites offer a relatively small selection and only account for music that has been deemed "legal".

Several search engines have been developed specifically for MP3s. Lycos MP3 Search, Scour and Palavista are a few of these useful search engines.  Additionally, software utilities like Napster and Limewire allow MP3 users to search for, and trade, MP3s through a client - not unlike AOL's Instant Messenger.  As the MP3 phenomenon grows, more efficient searching and downloading tools will be available for MP3 users. Peer-to-peer file sharing has become quite prevelant.

How does one make their own MP3s?
In some sense, it is impossible to "make" MP3s.  Unlike MIDI files, which are lists of instructions given to computer based instruments, the MP3 format is not a tool for the creation of music.  In other words, a musician cannot create music in MP3 form.  However, existing formats can be converted to the MP3 format for better compression without a reduction in sound quality.

Music files are quite bulky and CD tracks, in their original form, are far to large to be transported over the Internet.  The process of converting a CD track to a MP3 is relatively simple and can be accomplished with many software packages such as Audio Catalyst, MusicMatch Jukebox and others.  These programs come in quite handy, as an entire CD can be stored on a hard drive at a fraction of the space or on a Zip disk.