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Don’t Be Afraid of Downloading Music
Are you afraid you will get arrested if you download music over the internet? Or perhaps you think you won’t get the service or music you want?
By now, everyone knows about those legal rulings on downloading music, and you might be afraid to trust any web site that tells you their music is free and legal to download.
It is true that music downloading has changed since the courts got involved to protect the rights of composers, artists, and music distributors. Under the old system, these professionals received no royalties for the music they worked so hard to produce.
But today, music download sites are obligated to comply with the law.
If you are a music lover, and you really want to download music, you may wish to join a subscriber program so you can download a large number of files, or unlimited music files, to keep up with the latest music on the market.
To protect yourself, you should avoid sites that do not offer a guarantee that their music files are safe. Otherwise, you might end up with a virus or other bug on your computer after you download the music file you want.
If you are download songs directly to your iPod or MP3 player, be sure that the music download site you choose will support your device.
You should know that you may have to download a small software program so that you can transfer your music from the music download site to your device or computer.
If possible, select a site that was reviewed and approved by consumer publications, or web music critics. My Music Inc., MP3 Download HQ, Free Music Downloads and All Cool Music were all reviewed by C\NET, CNN, Tucows, OnlineReviewBoard, and/or Web Reviews for quality of customer and technical support, frequency of upgrades and pricing, virus free guarantees, and download speed.
RhapsodyMusicService and iMusicShare, among others offer per song or per month rates for music downloads.
And even Napster and Kazaa, who were in business during the initial legal action over violation of royalty and copyright laws, are now legitimate sites offering a library of downloads.
AOL, Apple, with its iTunes and iPod business, and Real.com, with Real Rhapsody, now offer free or subscription programs.
Even retailers like Amazon and Wal-Mart have their own version of downloadable music sites.
SoundClick and GoingWare offer downloads of the newest bands, and cutting edge music by musicians who are not yet signed by a label, and there is plenty of the newest, most exciting music on these sites.
When you are looking for a site to download music, AVOID P2P or Peer-to-Peer programs. These are designed for users to share song libraries, and when you download a song from someone else’s library, your computer is essentially open to security breach, hacking and virus threats.
As you review the prospective download sites and subscription programs look for download speed, ease of use, and song selection, and be sure you check out the search capability on the site, to be sure it is easy to find what you want.
It is very hard to find the music you want on some sites, or you might find 30 versions of the same song, and you have to browse through all of them to find what you want. Then, when you download the song, and AFTER you may have paid for that download, you discover that the version you downloaded was the disco mix and it was not labeled appropriately! So beware!
If you have friends who are downloading music, and you are unsure about choosing a music download site, talk to your more experienced friends and find out what site or program they are using, and which sites or programs you should avoid.
Writen By Raleigh Renfree Copyright 2006
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