Invented in the early ’90s and pushed into the mainstream a decade later through platforms like iTunes, the MP3 revolutionized music.

By digitizing and compressing audio files into smaller units that could be downloaded and shared without losing sound quality, the MP3’s creators, whether meaning to or not, swept the rug out from under the music industry.

Now, it seems, one of those same inventors is looking to give back to the business he helped decimate.

With support from one of the MP3’s original creators, a German company called BACH Technology has introduced a digital music format to replace the MP3.

MusicDNA files will play on ordinary MP3 players, such as the iPod, but contains additional “rich media” content. According to TechDirt, when a user plays a MusicDNA file, they will have access to “relevant Twitter and MySpace feeds, Wikipedia articles and sleeve art, and could link through to concert ticket retailers and more.”

The logistics are unclear, but the rich content will presumably show in BACH’s iTunes-like MusicDNA player. A portable player is also in the works. (First thought: If Apple isn’t on board…)

“What we are bringing back to the end user is the entire emotional experience of music,” BACH CEO Stefan Kohlmeyer told Reuters (via Wired). “We think it got lost in the transition to the digital era. We think a beautiful piece of audio has been reduced to a number code. We want to enrich it again.”

They also want to give power back to the labels. BACH, along with the record companies that have shown interest, hope that consumers will pay a higher premium for the rich media content. They plan for illegally downloaded MusicDNA files to contain no extra content, working like standard MP3s (which means they also play for MusicDNA files to be illegally downloaded).

Herein lies the biggest challenge: Re-training listeners accustomed to consuming music en masse and taking it everywhere to stop and visually engage with the music they’re listening to. And to pay extra for that privilege.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens when MusicDNA rolls out this summer.

Would you buy it?