Korean computer engineers are introducing a new digital music format that has separate controls on the sound volume for each musical instrument, such as guitar, drum, base and voice -- an ideal tool for music lovers of different tastes as well as karaoke fans.

The new format, which has a file extension format of MT9 and a commercial title of Music 2.0, is poised to replace the popular MP3 file format as the de facto standard of the digital music source, its inventors say.

The distinctive feature of MT9 format is that it has a six-channel audio equalizer, with each channel dedicated to voice, chorus, piano, guitar, base and drum. For example, if a user turns off the voice channel, it becomes a karaoke player. Or one can turn off all the instruments and concentrate on the voice of the main singer as if he or she is singing a cappella.

Ham says that the music industry should change its attitude to the market as music is becoming a digital service, rather than a physical product. MT9 is the ideal fit for the next generation of music business because it can be used for multiple services and products, such as iPhones, PCs, mobile phones and karaoke bars, he says.

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The Canadian Recording Industry Association this week quietly filed documents in the Federal Court of Appeal that will likely shock many in the industry.  CRIA, which spent more than 15 years lobbying for the creation of the private copying levy, is now fighting to eliminate the application of the levy on the Apple iPod since it believes that the Copyright Board of Canada's recent decision to allow a proposed tariff on iPods to proceed "broadens the scope of the private copying exception to avoid making illegal file sharers liable for infringement." 

Hearings in the iPod case are not likely to occur until 2008, yet these filings from CRIA will reverberate long after that hearing concludes.  It is not every day that the recording industry acknowledges an argument widely known within legal circles - downloading music in Canada for personal purposes is arguably legal as it is compensated activity covered by the private copying levy.

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All the tracks come from smaller labels but they include indie giants known for favouring loose controls over music - Nettwerk, whose roster includes heavyweights Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLachlan and Barenaked Ladies; and Arts & Crafts, stocked with buzz bands like Broken Social Scene, Feist and Phoenix.

Many of these same labels already offer MP3s on their own websites and through EMusic.com, a subscription-based service whose entire catalogue is free of copy restrictions.

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The group, called Merlin, was launched at the annual MidemNet music industry conference with its backers saying it would become the "fifth major" in the industry.

The launch follows the rapid growth in popularity of sites like YouTube, where fans post video clips carrying their choice of music without permission from copyright holders.

The independent record label sector makes up for 30 percent of the music sold worldwide, with the rest from the four majors -- Vivendi's Universal Music, Sony BMG, EMI Group and Warner Music.

The group said it would aim to rectify the "poor cousin" status of deals previously offered to independent labels and will address the "growing assumption that, for emerging media, only the four majors need to be licensed, with the rest free to air."

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