One of the few remaining mp3direct releases is a collectors version of winplay3. Winamp was too cpu intensive for early pentiums thus winplay3 was the prime player, however it was not free. This special version allowed you to use an earlier winplay3, without cost. It also includes a nice promo for mp3direct   - download

The Mp3Direct download archive took a little role in the history of mp3.

This was one of the first of my successful endeavors. At the time (1996-97) mp3 was a format known only to the "underground" techies and much less wide spread than it is today. It was also of course less known to the RIAA and other music organizations. At the same time, computers were less powerful, internet connections slower, and the music distribution format was less realistic.

And yet distribution was alive, websites allowing download of full length cd quality mp3 songs received unheard of popularity. It was easy to come in and gain a large audience. At this time, before the passage of the net act, mp3 webmasters posted smilies next to their 24 hour "trial" period notices. Upon realizing the potential of the format, I knew a website had to be created.

The archive was co-authored with a Swedish friend of my sister's, together we created the web's largest direct download list for the mp3 format. His sense of humor helped it chug along, and together with out mediocre knowledge of html we attempted to create a hit. We did in fact average around 1,500 visitors per day in the peak development times. Of course we also needed an incentive. Banner advertising was the perfect solution for a steady and low risk income.

Through all this we learned about ripping off banner companies, and how to get ripped of by them. But generally it was fun, a lot of positive comments from our "readers" came in our direction. As the cover up of the format became more and more visible, we decided to leave the party while still having fun.

Later on, I used the server space to host mp3 archives for mp3 founding sites, the Outer Limits, Mp3 Asylum and Yosh mp3 Power Search.

In its prime the layout of the mp3direct site looked similar to how you see it now.
- Boris Masis 98