MusicDNA, a potential successor to MP3, has been unveiled at the Midem music conference. The MusicDNA format will cram other media like lyrics, video, artwork and blog posts which can be continually update into the file. It’ll be in direct competition with Apple’s iTunes LP packages.
MusicDNA will launch in a beta version this spring with full roll out of the format due by the end of the summer. Its creator is Dagfinn Bach, a Norwegian software developer who worked on the first MP3 player and its investor include Karlheinz Brandenburg, one of the inventors of the MP3 file format.
No major labels have picked up MusicDNA yet but Beggars Group, the UK’s largest independent record company (which distributes Vampire Weekend, Dizzee Rascal and The Strokes) has signed up.
Speaking at the Midem conference, Bach said MusicDNA will be able to carry a huge amount of information: “We can deliver a file that is extremely searchable and can carry up to 32GB of extra information in the file itself.”
Apple already has its own iTunes LP format for bundling artwork, videos and other content on the iTunes Store but if MusicDNA becomes an industry standard you can be sure that it will pay attention.
Due Spring 2010 | £TBA | MusicDNA (via BBC News)
