> I wonder if this was imagined to be used so that when you got a sample of a song in MP3 format it could come pre-loaded with ratings from a site or something.
My first thought was shared file systems, e.g. a file server on a home network where each user would play MP3s from their client computer and could store their individual ratings in the files without overwriting any other user’s rating.
Dorm network SMB. There was a brief period of time, when mp3 were already a thing but before they were made truly ubiquitous by widespread p2p filesharing, in which every group of young people living together in ethernet range developed a habit leaving the PCs with the nicest music collections running through their nights. The idea of a play counter would have felt like a natural refinement to everyone involved. Not much different from the website visitor counter gifs that were still not entirely gone.
My first thought was shared file systems, e.g. a file server on a home network where each user would play MP3s from their client computer and could store their individual ratings in the files without overwriting any other user’s rating.