MP3

By Jonathan Sterne,

Book cover of MP3: The Meaning of a Format

Book description

MP3: The Meaning of a Format recounts the hundred-year history of the world's most common format for recorded audio. Understanding the historical meaning of the MP3 format entails rethinking the place of digital technologies in the larger universe of twentieth-century communication history, from hearing research conducted by the telephone industry…


When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked MP3 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

MP3s are a curious thing; they’re of the digital moment, and yet they’re already old-fashioned, given that we’re much more likely to stream than to save.

Jonathan Sterne’s book is one that I come back to over and over again because he impressed upon me the importance of thinking about format when trying to understand media. He explains the MP3’s “promiscuous social life” since the 1990s as it has moved between corporations and individuals, as a commodity sold and also one pirated and shared peer-to-peer.

As a curious student of musical culture, I’m intrigued by the seismic shifts that have…

Want books like MP3?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 14 books like MP3.

Browse books like MP3

Book cover of The Pencil: A History of Design and Circumstance
Book cover of The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another
Book cover of Paper Knowledge: Toward a Media History of Documents

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,187

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in intelligence agency, James Bond, and parenting?

James Bond 30 books
Parenting 381 books