The brains behind the MP3 format have announced that they are set to release a new format called MusicDNA – it will aim to deliver much more content including artwork, blog posts, lyrics and other cool features.

MusicDNA can carry up to 32GB of extra information, and because it is continually updated it will continue to deliver fresh new content to the user after they have purchased it.

The new sweeteners are part of a concerted effort by some in the music industry to add value to legal MP3′s and improve sales – this has been adopted by online music shops like Beatport where they give the Ableton file with MP3 pre-warped.

It has been invented by Norwegian developer Dagfinn Bach, who worked the first MP3 player in 1993, Mr Bach said: “We can deliver a file that is extremely searchable and can carry up to 32GB of extra information in the file itself, and it will be dynamically updatable so that every time the user is connected, his file will be updated.”

Mr Brandenburg, director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology in Germany, said: “I think it brings together a number of ideas that have been around for a long time. I remember 10 years ago, a lot of people were saying that we need to enrich the user experience, that legal access to music has to give the customers more than just music, and this is certainly one very nice way to do it.”

MusicDNA is launching a test version this spring, and it should be available by the end of summer, but with no major labels signing up yet – fingers crossed that it takes off.

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