The Internet sensation known as MP3 that thrived since 1996 faced its greatest challenges and changes during the year of 1998. 1998 was a year marked by site closings, media coverage, technological innovation, and a great sweeping change of mindset.

On February 7th, 1998, (Which would later be named “Black February” by Blex) one event seemed to trigger a chain of events that would change the face of the MP3 Community forever. Blex’s Page Of Good MP3s, a site not only noted for its FTP site list, but also for the webmaster’s outspoken personality, became the subject of Geffen employee Jim Griffin’s attack on online piracy. Jim used Blex’s listing as a tool to find individual site operators, and would later recall that sites similar to Blex’s made his job easier.

During an Interview with MP3.com, held not long after the “Blex Incident”, Jim said that, “All the illegal MP3s on the net drown out the artists who really ARE forward thinkers and distribute their music on the net in MP3 or any format. That's really who it hurts. These "big" stars don't deserve the MP3 distribution because they haven't chosen it. It should be reserved for the bands who recognize its power and embrace it”.

He also warned that “If we don't have order, then no artist will even consider digital distribution, much less adopt it. And worse, we'll see the advent of copy protection, which would be very bad.”

While Geffen had been actively pursuing online “music pirates” for quite sometime, the RIAA, armed with the new NET Act, began taking a more obvious and active position against unauthorized online music distribution. Among those sites to get lost in the wave were The Ministry Of Sound and Mighty Mo’s MP3s. Many others would also disappear silently throughout the year.

Aside from disturbances within the introverted MP3 Community, development of MP3 based technology continued at an exciting pace. Perhaps the most important tangible products of the technology were the emerging portable MP3 player devices, particularly Diamond’s high profile RIO player. The RIO was a distinct improvement from its predecessor, the Korean made MPMan, and seemed to serve as a model for future devices. The RIO was also the target of a failed injunction attempt by the RIAA.

The RIAA also began its “SoundByting” campaign, intended to “educate” university administrators and students about online music piracy. During this same time, several ISPs began taking rather ridiculous stances against the MP3 format, often deleting files with the “.MP3” extension. Many people unfortunately were given the impression that the technology itself was illegal.

While the RIAA began to mobilize, many MP3 site webmasters were left with few options. Not willing to engage in a surely one-sided legal battle, and still very attached to their creations and the technology, many attempted to find ways to remain safe from the law and still attract visitors. One such concept was “Sampler MP3s”, which were only 20 or 30 second recordings. Several websites would use this idea, but they did not prove especially popular with visitors. On the opposite side of the spectrum, websites began posting MP3s by “unknown” independent acts. These early and cumbersome efforts became the foundation of an entirely new concept of online music: Using the Internet to empower artists, and to provide a potential audience never before thought possible to an un-backed musician.

Throughout the year, MP3.com positioned itself as a leader in the online music field, and took upon the immense task of rebutting the negative publicity that surrounded the technology. Investors recognized the unique position and potential of the company, as a result, MP3.com was given 11 million dollars in venture capital funding. Other companies also began pioneering business models involving online music.

Big name acts became more aware of the MP3 technology. Public Enemy attempted to release MP3s on their website, despite the label complicating matters. Pearl Jam’s lead singer, Eddie Vedder, said “More power to them,” after he was told the “Yield” album had been distributed on the Internet many days before it’s official store release.

Despite many of the unwanted changes and setbacks within the community, the coming year of 1999 would bring continued evolution of hardware and software technologies, and would embrace an entirely new generation of MP3 users.

(To Be Continued)