About the MMA
The MMA has been the caretaker of MIDI since its inception*. We have overseen and helped to coordinate changes to the MIDI specification, which today remains one of the most relevant standards in the entertainment industry.
Mission
- To insure interoperability of MIDI products through an open standards process with broad industry participation.
- To be proactive towards developing and enhancing MIDI to respond to market needs.
- To encourage the use of MIDI technology and MIDI products in established and growth markets.
- To protect the meaning of the term MIDI as used in commerce
Member Benefits
MIDI Specifications
MMA members participate in developing new MIDI standards through electronic discussions in Technical Working Groups, and through teleconferences or physical meetings. Forum access is restricted, providing a secure manner for our members to discuss and improve upon proposals before actually releasing them to the public.
Members that participate in the MMA Technical Working Groups get early access to specifications, and influence the development to accommodate their business needs in consensus with other members.
MMA Technical Working Groups address market requirements for various industries and applications, including Audio Production and Networking, Mobile and Wireless (MWG), Themed Entertainment, Music Software, Game Audio, and more.
Identify Trends
Quarterly reports from Technical Working Groups enable members to stay informed on trends for MIDI in the "MI", Mobile, Themed/Event, PC and other industries represented in the MMA.
Technical Assistance
The MMA General Forum provides a means for members to discuss implementation details and other technical questions with other MMA members, in order to achieve proper operation and interoperability of MIDI products.
Each member is also assigned someone from the MMA Technical Standards Board to assist in submitting technical proposals or getting answers to technical questions.
Networking
Members have access to representatives at other member companies, for the purpose of compatibility testing, trade show loaners, etc.
Meetings and social events held in conjunction with various industry-related trade shows (NAMM, AES, GDC, etc.) provide additional opportunities for contact with peers.
Marketing & Promotion
Members are eligible to have their company logo or other marketing image displayed (in rotation with others) on the MMA Home Page, and are eligible to participate in other marketing efforts via the MMA web site.
Members are also entitled to participate in direct marketing to MIDI enthusiasts that have registered to receive marketing messages from MMA via our Announcements email reflector.
Logo Licensing
Members may license the MMA logos for promoting compliant products and services.
Services
Publications
The MMA produces, adopts, and publishes the MIDI 1.0 and all other industry-adopted specifications for and related to MIDI.
ID Assignment
The MMA assigns unique ID numbers to manufacturers in order to prevent conflicts. The Manufacturer's System Exclusive ID number provides each manufacturer with a way to communicate product-specific data via MIDI. The DLS Proprietary Chunk ID provides each manufacturer a way to embed custom product information into a standard DLS file.
ID holders are listed on the MMA Web Site and may optionally include a link to their own web site.
Market Development
The MMA's first market development effort began in 1995 when our Standard MIDI File (SMF) Copyright and Licensing Committee worked with artists and music publishers to educate them on the new market opportunities related to SMF, as well as the legal issues involving copyrights in MIDI files. As a result of MMA efforts, the US Copyright Office issued a ruling in 1995 that MIDI files are entitled to the same copyright protection and licensing rules as other forms of audio content (i.e. CDs and tapes), which has enabled the increased use of MIDI in various applications.
Liaison Activities
The MMA maintains strategic relationships with other organizations to assist and promote the use of MIDI technology in new areas.
MPEG-4: MIDI is one of the "synthetic audio" formats in MPEG-4, and DLS 2 is the MPEG-4 Sound Bank Format. Through our liaison relationship with ISO/IEC JTC-1 SC-29, MMA members may participate in MPEG (WG11) meetings upon approval of the MMA Executive Board.
IEEE-1394 (FireWire): MMA Recommended Practice RP-027 was developed cooperatively with the 1394TA, and is the approved means for transmitting MIDI over IEEE-1394.
3GPP ("3G" Phones): MMA's SP-MIDI and Mobile DLS/XMF technologies have been adopted by 3GPP for ringtones and other audio use on mobile terminals.
IASIG: The Interactive Audio Special Interest Group (IASIG) brings together audio engineers, composers, programmers and product designers from the computing, entertainment and music industries to improve the quality of platforms and tools for interactive multimedia applications. Though IASIG is a work project of the MMA, it is run as a separate organization with separate membership.
MMA representatives attend and participate in industry conferences such as the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and Game Developers Association (GDA).
*with AMEI in Japan