From P2P Through Allofmp3, Is Inexpensive, Legal Music Finally On The Horizon?
September 14th, 2009 by ftsWith P2P via Allofmp3, is cheap, above-board music finally on the horizon?
Are you happy paying the cost of a cd for mp3 downloads? Me neither. The music industry have succeeded at this expensive cartel for years, pulling in still bigger profits now that they don’t have to manufacture, circulate or stock anything physical. Despite the popular attempts of Napster, allofmp3.com etc to present a lower cost alternative (albeit with suspect legal standings), the industry has at all times applied maximum force to remove other choices on copyright grounds (read profit cut).
However there are novel ways of listening and downloading music for a fraction of the fee of buying your tracks from the industry ‘approved’ site(s). Two models have surfaced which seem to be taking on a offbeat status that hopefully will become prevalent and mainstream once music downloaders realise that there are alternatives to paying $1 a song……
The first is the subscription service, where customers pay a monthly charge, and can download a limited quantity of tracks depending on the amount of their subscription. Sites like emusic.com have a massive back catalogue and many new releases (citing 6 million songs on their website), although they tend to be more genre specific. Mp3s, however, cost between $0.50 to $0.75, depending on your monthly payment (the more you shell out, the cheaper the songs get). The main downside is that you can’t ‘bank’ your credits - don’t use all of your downloads by the end of the month and that’s it - they’re history! One key benefit is that all of the music is DRM free - you can enjoy it on as many separate mp3 playing devices as you fancy. Take a crack at that with iTunes.
The more left field option is the slow but sure emergence of streaming music sites. You don’t download the tracks - you stream it to your pc / phone etc. Sounds a bit limited, but when you create an account you can create playlists online, or just play music as you search for it. If you’ve got access to the internet, you can hear your music! Sites like spotify have a massive collection of music, all on hand to stream for free (although with the free choice there are sporadic ads played linking tracks - just think of it as listening to your ideal commercial radio station). There is a (inexpensive) pay service, which gets rid of the ads, and streams at a superior bitrate. I’m in fact listening to the colossal Killing Joke on spotify as I type this, and have just been offered a test drive in a pristine Lexus….slightly bizarre.
Looking ahead, one theory gathering momentum at the moment is that eventually bands will give all of their music away for free, on the basis that it is used as promotional material for their tours and merchandising. The record companies must be apprehensive, as this would ensure most of the money going directly to the musicians, who could go off and record their tracks without the connection of a record company. And doing a tour is big business these days - the recent cancelled Oasis concerts are believed to have lost the band millions in lost takings.
Of course, giving songs away for at no cost is commonplace among new bands who have access to an immediate and targeted audience if they do their viral marketing correctly (Arctic Monkeys everyone?). On the other hand stadium oufits like Prince and Radiohead have lately been giving new music away - is this a sign of things to come?
Despite the attempts of P2P & the flood of allofmp3 substitutes, are we seeing the origins of low cost / free, legal downloads on the internet? I hope so……
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All Of Mp3 - Since The [spin]Best Music Download Site On The Net Went Down, Where Do You Download Music Now?
June 14th, 2009 by ftsallofmp3 RIP……. Since the death knell rang for the very well-liked (and later proved to be legal) mp3 download site, music download fans all over the earth have been looking for a trustworthy alternative to allofmp3.
Tens of sites appeared effectively overnight to capitalise on the hunger of thousands of mp3 download fans, all offering the same high quality, low cost music store experience. Sorry to say most of these sites were shockingly poor, offering low quality rehashes of other sites’ libraries, and often being unavailable at no notice.
So what were the criteria that had thousands repeatedly recharging their accounts at the best download site before it was enforced to shutdown?
In essence, the tracks were low-priced & the standard very high, and the music collection was considerable - ranging from all current new releases of all music styles, to the latest charts and an inspiring back catalogue of albums stretching back to the sixties. And all tracks were DRM free, meaning they could be played on any mp3 player.
Those new sites had a lot to live up to…….………………….
The majority of them didn’t!
So where do you download mp3s nowadays?
In the main, you have two options when it comes to finding low price, high quality songs on the internet. Pay per download or file sharing.
By pay per download, it is customary to charge your account in advance (using a credit card), and this total is then reduced as you buy music. As soon as your account is at zero you can charge your account over again and carry on. Some sites offer enticements of extra tracks or bonus credits if you credit your account at a certain level (say $30). Before you do this, always try to ensure the site has enough music to cover your credit, and more significantly has been around long enough that you’re happy it isn’t going to disappear overnight……
File sharing has been here since well before allofmp3. Essentially you join a network, where each person on the network allows sharing of some or all of their personal mp3s (also movies, games etc). If the network is large, you have access to literally millions of files to share (or download for free, depending on your standpoint). In the early days these sites were gratis to use, but subsidised themselves with oodles of maddening adware, and in some cases, spyware.
If file sharing is the way you want to go, join a network that is guaranteed to be clear of adware and spyware. These networks charge a token membership, but then all downloads are at no cost.
Although the dust has settled to some extent and (most of) the cowboys have moved on, there is still varying quality in the level of sites that remain. Bookmark this allofmp3 substitute review site- It monitors the current players, and advises the best allofmp3 alternative.
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