The MP3+G consists of two files, the audio track compressed to the mp3 format and a separate cdg file that contains the graphic data. These two files combined occupy about one eighth the disc space of a standard CDG track. This is a great way to back up your karaoke discs to your hard drive or CD's.

A Few MP3+G Facts

The two files of an MP3+G (one with a .cdg extension and one with a .mp3 extension) must have exactly the same name with the exception of their file extension.

MP3+G files can be played on a PC or laptop by opening it's mp3 file with an MP3+G player or with WinAmp if you have the CDG Plugin installed.

The two files of the MP3+G can be encoded (joined together) to create a single BIN file. A BIN file can be burnt to any blank CDR disc, with the proper software and CD writer, and will play in virtually any karaoke CDG player.

Downloading MP3+G Files

I have received quite a few inquiries about the ability to download MP3+G files from the internet. After doing some investigating I have found that you can indeed locate and download virtually every karaoke song ever produced. These song files are shared between users of certain newsgroups and IRC channels. The "pairs" of files it takes to make an MP3+G song are usually zipped together to allow a single file download for each song.


Burning MP3+G Files To Disc

In my opinion, there is one software application that stands out from any other of it's type. Power CD+G Burner makes creating karaoke CDG discs from MP3+G files a snap. Simply select the MP3+G songs that you want and this program will encode them and then burn them to a blank CDR disc with the click of a button. No other software is required. It will also work with most modern CD and DVD writers.

Computer Karaoke

A relatively new concept that is catching on quickly is the practice of converting karaoke CDG's to the MP3+G format, copying them to the hard drive of a laptop computer, and playing them with hosting software. The result is no more scratched discs, no more fumbling around with discs at your karaoke shows, and no more hauling discs around. I predict that within the next few years this will become the standard.

Ripping Tracks From CDG Discs

There are several software applications that will rip tracks from a CDG and convert them to MP3+G files. A popular one is Tricerasoft's CDG Ripper. Keep in mind that in order to rip tracks from a CDG you must have a CD-ROM or CD writer that can read subchannel data. See CD Writers That Support CDG.