Music is prevalent in every culture and it has become a universal language. It has been described as "nourishment to the soul," "an extension of spirituality or a celebration of life," and as the "purest form of art." It has been compared to that of the human body as the "beating of the heart, the flow of blood, the play of muscles, the pulsations of breath" all part of a great symphony.

It can make us sing and dance or it can make us despair and cry. Its for these very reasons why we cherish music. It explains why music entered our lives and never left. Throughout history we have created, performed and congregated to hear music. We long for it. We hunger for it. And from the moment it was made possible, we have collected music.

From musical notes to tin foil cylinders to MP3s mankind has made every attempt in capturing music to be shared with the masses. It wasnt until the late 1940s when the vinyl record was invented that the recording industry was able to meet the demands of music listeners by providing an easy and affordable way to share music in a timely manner. It was a music revolution.

By the 1950s the demand for music was everywhere. Today, music is everywhere. Its played in elevators, in stores, on the phone, in the car, on portable players, and its on the Internet. Music comes in many formats but none has taken Americans by storm as has the MP3.

The MP3 was created in the mid 1990s but was nearly unknown by all until June of 1999 when a young college student, Shawn Fanning, released a free service available over the Internet called Napster. This service created a network of music lovers that allowed them to share music in the MP3 format, which could easily be downloaded via a dial-up modem due to its small file size.

Although later deemed illegal by the lower courts, Napster was an instant hit and by 2001 it has 26.4 millions users. It allowed music fans the opportunity to share their digital music collection with others worldwide and vice versa. Irrelevant to how one may feel on the subject in regard to the legality of sharing MP3s online, one cannot deny Napster and the MP3 changed history in the way we get music, share music and listen to music.

Today we have the option to carry hours upon hours of music on a portable audio player about the size of a credit card, if not smaller. In fact, some MP3 or AAC players will allow one to carry an entire music collection on it, making it a portable jukebox. Music lovers essentially have become their own walking deejays and radio stations.

From downloading MP3s to streaming them on the Internet, MP3s and other audio formats have made it simpler than ever to capture the heartbeat of the soul and allow fans to enjoy music anytime, anywhere. One could now have their cake and eat it too. Within minutes one can be listening to a favorite song on their PC or portable audio player after downloading it. One can now download nearly every song in MP3 format or convert it from a compact disc.

Another music revolution had taken place. The music recording industry at first argued against the popularity of the MP3 because of so-called lost revenue but soon embraced it. The music fans had spoken and it was clear they wanted fair pricing for music on compact disc, they wanted the option to buy singles or entire albums in MP3 format, and they wanted better music.

The recording industry began listening and deals were made that led the way to iTunes, Napster 2.0 and the alike. And music fans responded. In fact, iTunes just recently sold their one-billionth song. In Australia, three major music stores are making the transition to sell MP3s and other digital music files rather than traditional compact discs.

Overall, including the lawsuits and overpriced compact discs, the change in the music industry has been in favor of the listeners. Where it goes from here is uncertain but within music there is one constant as long as music continues to move us we will continue to dance.