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MP3 technology is allowing little-known, unsigned artists to reach a broader audience.

The High Tide Steel Drum Band, a Caribbean music act in Elkridge, Md., doesn't have an entourage, a video or a contract. But it does have something in common with recording artists such as Pete Townshend, Alanis Morissette and the Eurythmics. Each has taken advantage of the latest Internet audio rage, Mpeg Layer 3, or MP3.

"It's unbelievable what a difference MP3 has made to us," says band member Mike Miller. "Our music has a very specific audience. Since we have been added to Amazon.com's Advantage Program, we have been able to reach new fans from all over the United States and sell copies of our first CD."

Developed during the late 1980s by Germany's Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, MP3 allows musicians to create musical files that can be downloaded quickly and cleanly, translating into near CD-quality sound. This means nearly anyone can cheaply put a song or entire CD onto a Website. Artists can give away a single track (usually to entice listeners to buy more songs) or charge a nominal fee (no more than $1 or $2) for each selection.

"The success of consumers embracing this technology is a good indication as to where the future is moving," says John Lenihan, director of public relations for MP3.com, one of the largest repositories of MP3 downloads. "Just as the eight-track tape came and went, eventually music is going to go to the Net."

MP3.com began in late 1997 and today claims more than 400,000 visitors every month, roaming among its more than 30,000 artists and 180,000 free songs. "The coolest thing about MP3 is that it empowers the artist and the consumer," says Lenihan. "It returns the power of song ownership back to the artist and allows the consumer to make his own choice."

Selection, immediacy and price are distinct advantages for online music outlets. Traditional record stores typically only carry about 6 percent of all available CDs. Consumers are limited to listening to the artists the labels decide to promote. That's why the MP3 movement started on university campuses, where cash-poor students are looking for the next new sound and artists.

"The MP3 revolution began in the college dorms about four years ago," says Mike Reed, spokesman for Diamond Multimedia, maker of one of the first portable MP3 players. "The students began bringing larger and more powerful computers back to school every fall and, eventually, these replaced the need to also bring stereo equipment. It was a natural progression that they began to look for new music online."

For artists, the ability to reach a larger consumer audience without touring or being tied to a recording contract may seem a dream come true. They can offer their music for public scrutiny on their own Website or at a commercial site such as the Orchard. Unsigned groups and musicians can market their work to recording companies, while recording companies are happy not to have to constantly comb the clubs to hear new talent.

"We feel that record labels and independent artists, at least the ones that spot this revolution first, will benefit the most," Lenihan says. "We have 200 independent labels on the Website, and they will have first knowledge of the artists that are being showcased on MP3.com. If they see an artist is being heavily visited, downloaded and purchased, chances are they are going to consider signing that artist."

But MP3 has raised concerns within the recording industry about piracy -- fans share artists' works over the Internet and it's easy enough to illegally sell an artist's music online. The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents more than 500 industry-related companies, is countering MP3 by introducing a forum called the Secure Digital Music Initiative, or SDMI. Working with manufacturers and labels, SDMI aims to devise a piracy-proof digital format standard that everyone can live with.

"It is interesting to note that when radio started in the 1920s, the record companies complained about the same thing -- piracy," says Steve Devick, chief executive and president of Platinum Records, who works with artists such as Townshend, Taylor Dayne and Peter Cetera. "They worried about the ability for the listener to copy the broadcast and if they were going to get paid for the play of any of their artists." Internet piracy is not a problem because most transactions are conducted with credit cards, making it easy to find anyone selling stolen MP3 files.

Whatever its virtues or vices, MP3 is here to stay. "I know, as far as we have gotten, MP3 has given us opportunities," says Miller of the High Tide Steel Drum Band. "We have never been the type to sit on a doorstep and wait for people to listen to our music. As a grass-roots independent, we are trying to conquer the world by ourselves. MP3 has given us a chance that we might not have had otherwise. Hopefully, we will ride it wherever it takes us."