MP3 is the biggest threat to music today. There is no doubt about it. It emerged in the early 2000s and since then it has completely changed the way the world consumes music. An MP3 provides a simple way to have music in digital file form, an easy-to-produce medium on which music can be shared peer-to-peer or over the Internet. Music devices like iPods and Zunes were created and modified not only to store these MP3s, but also to make them available in massive quantities. A volume of music that once filled a vinyl shelf can now be stored on a smartphone. But how is this a threat to music? Music quickly becomes intangible. The experience that physical music provided to a song is disappearing, and with it, music as a personal, tangible experience is dying. Music journalism in physical form is also disappearing. MP3 caused the decline of music as a tangible entity (CD or magazine) and replaced it with disposable digital files and erasable pixels on a screen. Music was always meant to be experienced. Before the music was recorded, you went out to hear music played in person, to feel the vibrations going through you, to see the musicians playing, and to be around life and other people participating in the same environment. When music was recorded on vinyl, you had to sit or be near the phonograph to listen to the record. You can take apart the cover art, get lost in the carefully chosen illustrations, pour over the liner notes, or just lie back and soak in the sound. CDs and cassettes were a minor disruption because while you still get a similar experience, CD players and Walkmans allow for portable listening, but to listen to either you still had.. .... middle of paper ...... will be the future of popular music. Works Cited Fogarino, Sam. “Artist Quotes.” Recordstoreday.com. Record Store Day, sd Web. November 13, 2011. Harvey, Eric. “The Social History of the MP3.” Fork. Pitchfork Media Inc. August 24, 2009. Web. November 7, 2011. Hogan, Marc. “It’s not a mixtape.” Fork. Pitchfork Media Inc. February 22, 2010. Web. November 7, 2011.McLeese, Don. “Straddling the cultural chasm: the great divide between music criticism and popular consumption. » Popular music and society 33.4 (2010): 433-47. Premier Academic Research. Internet. November 7, 2011. Rodman, Gilbert B. and Cheyanne Vanderdonckt. “Music for nothing or I want my MP3.” Cultural Studies 20.2/3 29 (2006): 245-61. Premier Academic Research. Internet. November 7, 2011. White, Jack. “Artist Quotes.” Recordstoreday.com. Record Store Day, sd Web. November 13. 2011.