Note of Authenticity

A group of software firms, independent record labels and music Web sites have joined to form the Genuine Music Coalition, whose mission is to improve the quality and authenticity of recordings delivered in MP3 and other digital formats on the Internet.

The coalition will support a new digital watermark logo invented by Redwood City, Calif.-based Liquid Audio that will allow consumers to distinguish between pirated songs and those that have been approved by the content owner. The digital watermark will allow consumers to track the origin of a recording but cannot prevent counterfeiting of music in the MP3 format--a new compression formula that allows computer users to download pirated CD-quality songs from the Internet.

So far, none of the nation’s five major record conglomerates have joined the coalition.