MP3 is a portable consumer electronic device that allows you to store and plays music files in MP3 format. MP3 players are small handheld devices and often use flash memory for storing MP3 files. While frequently called an MP3 player, it fits under the broader category of digital audio players and often an MP3 players can use other file types such as Windows Media Audio (WMA). MP3 is short for MPEG Audio Layer III. MPEG stands for Motion Pictures Expert Group, which is simply a fancy name for a set of international standards for describing the quality of a compressed sound or video recording. The standards are set on the basis of how much quality is lost during the compression process. Research into creating MP3 files was launched in 1977 by Karlheinz Brandenburg, who is now known as the father of the MP3. In 1999, the first MP3 music tracks for sale were distributed by indie label Sub Pop Records. It wasn't long after the Sub Pop MP3 release that the first MP3 players began to pop up. Brandenburg had tried for a long time to develop these portable players along side the technology for his MP3 files. In the early 1990s, Brandenburg did develop a player.