First MP3

MP3 is short for MPEG audio layer-3 and is a widely-used digital music file type. It is audio-only and is a direct descendent of the MPEG-1, which is low-bandwidth video compression, commonly used over the internet. The development of MP3 began in 1987 at the Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte Schaltungen in Germany, and in 1992 it was recognised as the international standard by the International Standards Organisation, as part of the MPEG-1 standard.