A technique for embedding data in an mp3, but not in the header file. The metadata is not easily removed by a hacker without significantly destroying the audio. The data capacity depends somewhat on the nature of the music, but is of the order of tens of kb/minute, with no change in the size of the mp3 file.
Applications
Data embedded in mp3 audio files can be used for protection of copyrighted digital media, and to enhance a musical recording with such things as lyrics, cataloging information, musical scores, MIDI representation, album cover graphics, and comments inserted by one user to be read later when the song is played. This metadata can be time-stamped and displayed synchronously with the audio, so that lyrics or comments are displayed at the correct time as the music is played.
The metadata technique can also be used in voice recordings to embed the transcript of recordings of archived news archives, meeting minutes and other recorded speech, to serve as the basis for searching for specific content or to be presented to the user as sub-titles. The entire text of an audio book could be embedded as metadata in the recording, and then either used for searching for a specific page, or to display while the recording is played.
Advantages
The method is both aurally transparent and robust. There is no audible change to the music which can be detected by the listener. The computer processing is simple.