MP3
A widely used compressed audio format based on MPEG Layer III audio coding, commonly paired with ID3 metadata.
General information
- Format name
- MPEG Audio Layer III
- Extension
.mp3- MIME type
audio/mpeg- Category
- audio
- Data type
- Binary
Media properties
- Compression
- Lossy
- Common codecs
- MPEG-1 Audio Layer III, MPEG-2 Audio Layer III
Common uses
Music
Podcasts
Audiobooks
Voice recordings
Downloaded audio
Related formats
Technical resources
| Resource | Publisher | Link |
|---|---|---|
| RFC 3003 — The audio/mpeg Media Type | RFC Editor | Open resource ↗ |
| MP3 File Format | Library of Congress | Open resource ↗ |
Record information
- Verified
- October 3, 2026
- Last updated
- October 3, 2026