berts420

I have compiled a list of websites that have digital muisc available for download. These sites are all legal and many offer free mp3s.

Pay Sites:

http://www.emusic.com/pitch2.html - If you want pop music don't go to this site. Lots of electronic and Jazz. $19.99 a month for 90 tracks, $14.99 a month for 65 tracks, $9.99 a month for 40 tracks. Most tracks are 128 or VBR

http://www.allofmp3.com/index2.shtml - Russian website so make sure you click on english in the top left hand corner of the page. $14.95 a month for a 1000 tracks or pay $.01 per mb. Offers a format that allows you to choose what file type (ie mp3, aac, wma, ogg vobis) and at what size or quality. One of my favorite sites. Check out this article for info on the legality of the site(thanks Music Man):
http://www.museekster.com/allofmp3info.htm Check out this page for some tips using allofmp3.com: http://www.museekster.com/allofmp3tipsen.htm

http://www.warprecords.com/bleep/ - Small selection. Independent electronic music label using the internet to sell directly to the consumer.

http://wippit.com/about/ - Get a years subscription for 90 bucks or something like that. Selection is growing. I have never used this site.

- $.30 a track, selection is growing.

http://musicdownloads.walmart.com/catalog/...let/MainServlet - $.88 a track. Ripoff.
http://www.real.com/rhapsody/?src=010604dm...ody_1_0_0_0_0_0 - Cost is $9.95 a month and $.79 to burn tracks. Over 20,000 albums. File format is WMA 128 kbps. A review from Dave R. -
http://www.liquid.com/ - I haven't used, comments are welcome.

http://www.apple.com/itunes/ - RIPOFF, unless you go for entire albums at $9.99

http://www.ambient.us/shop/ - Small selection of some tripped out music.

http://bestbuy.fullaudio.com/store/welcome...NUSELQKCABWKIV0 - I haven't used or read much about. Seems to be similer to Walmart or Itunes

http://www.napster.com/ - Thanks Nix

Free Sites or where select tracks are available for free:

http://www.emusic.com/pitch2.html -- 50 Free downloads, no commitment, cancel when you have downloaded your 50 tracks.
http://bestbuy.fullaudio.com/store/welcome...NUSELQKCABWKIV0 - 10 Free mp3s when you register with a valid promotion code

http://www.archive.org/audio/etreelisting-browse.php - Live shows, most files need to be converted to mp3 or wma and are huge. Great sound quality. My pics on this site are the Charlie Hunter shows.

- Usually only random tracks and some expire in 30 days. Check out the Michael Franti and Spearhead tracks.

- Usually expire in thirty days. Pop

http://www.allofmp3.com/index2.shtml - lots of free tracks but you have to search. Artists that I have found for free: Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Jethro Tull, Louis Armstrong, Rolling Stones, Massive Attack, UB40, Aphex Twins, Beastie Boys, Bjork, Brian Eno, David Bowie, Enigma, Grateful Dead, EMF, George Michael, Jackel Soundtrack, Orbital, Chili Peppers, Sex Pistols, U2. Here is a more complete list: http://www.museekster.com/allofmp3free.htm

Also check out the following links for a wealth of info about music download sites.:


http://www.museekster.com/index2.html

HAPPY DOWNLOADING

__________________
My DJ is full but I could still use another 80 gigs.

MusicMan

That's a very useful and worthwhile bit of research you've done there, thank you.

One thing though, could you please explain why you have labeled the most successful of all the music stores as a ripoff.

MM

__________________
1x iPod mini & 3x iPod (3rd Gen)
I use the world's most advanced OS on the fastest desktop computer available 'off-the-shelf'

MM's song recommendation, enjoy. (Updated 16th May)

berts420

I will assume you are talking about Itunes. First of all it depends on how you measure success. Just because you sell a lot of tracks to a lot of people who obviously have money if they are able to afford an ipod or an apple computer does not necessarily mean you are successful. Also note that even with apple charging $.99 a track they still haven't turned a profit.

On the other hand if another site like emusic.com or Music match could bring there prices down to say $.40-$.60 a track and invest in a catchy marking scheme like apple, MM might really have mass appeal.

My big dilemma is that the cost of labor and material for a physical Cd might justify a costlier product. From the machine that dupes the cds, to the ink they put on the cover to the shipping and store you are selling them and of the wharehouse, that stuff costs real money. Consider the cost of music downloads. You have servers, people to staff the servers, software techs, etc..... After examining both a bit closer you will see that the fixed costs will drop drastically for the music downloads. So yes they may not make as much money in the beginning but overtime as the fixed costs drop music downloads cost MM less.

Until Itunes can stop trying to fcuk the consumer in the ass I will use my choice that our great capitalist society gives us and go to one of the other sites I mentioned. Apple has every right to sell there music for what they want but I don't see that as the winning strategy in the end. As with everything else apple does, they will be copied and they will FAIL. I do not wish this upon anyone, but then again apple is not a person and the free market will dictate apples fate.

Peace

__________________
My DJ is full but I could still use another 80 gigs.

MusicMan

I agree but only up to a point.

The iTMS has a huge range (the biggest?) of music. It has embraced the independents (or vice-versa) and also offers Audible content.

Also, you don't have to own or even consider owning an iPod to use the iTMS, iTunes is a free, un-crippled download for all users of Macs and PCs.

A lot of people like to put Apple down but this is not the same company it was 5 or even 3 years ago, having learnt that one company can't go it alone and that partnerships have to be made. The HP deal is nothing short of shocking, that one of MS's biggest OEMs should choose the Apple solution over WMP. Yesterday, AOL launched the latest version of their instant messaging client (AIM 5.5) which enables video and audio conferencing with iChat AV (mac) users. Third-party's are willing to work with Apple these days because, in terms of innovation, they are the leaders (I'm sure I'll get some comments regarding that, which I welcome. Please though, before you do, make sure you've done your research into what technologies are built right in to OSX and Apple Hardware).

Sure, people have already begun mimicking the iTMS but still no-one (8 months after it's launch) has managed to make it as easy to buy and play music as the iTMS does; i.e. one application for ripping, encoding, buying, organising, burning and syncing music.

It's certainly going to be interesting watching how things develop during 2004. I think that it may even be well into 2005 before a clear winner (if there's going to be one) emerges.

We (visitors to this site and many others like it) are early adopters, we're at the beginning of this whole adventure. The only question is, who will still be in the race at the end?

MM

__________________
1x iPod mini & 3x iPod (3rd Gen)
I use the world's most advanced OS on the fastest desktop computer available 'off-the-shelf'

MM's song recommendation, enjoy. (Updated 16th May)

berts420

I agree with you that apple is not the same company it was 3 or five years ago, but again you asked me to address why I said it was a "ripoff" and I did. I have found both emusic.com and allofmp3.com to be extremely easy to use. Yes I always have to add the tracks to winamp, but winamp is a great player and builds the library really quick(unlike MM).

I have not used Itunes so let me ask you some questions so people who read this thread can get a lot better idea of what Itunes is and how it works. You have explained the basic gist of the program in you previous post. So here we go:

What formats can you download from on itunes, mp3, aac, ogg vorbis? Also if you can only download aac files does itunes have an mp3 convertor? Please try not to get into to which file type is better because that is a thread in itself.

Also can you transfer songs to your dell dj using Itunes? If not, is dudebox or MM the best way to get your tracks off Itunes?

Please add anything you want. Also to everyone who is posting i am trying to keep this an informative thread, so lets keep the bashing at a minimum unless you can back it up with a constructive logical argument. I said Itunes was a rip off because it costs to much, which is good for the community to know(constructive) and very logical to pick another choice.

Peace

__________________
My DJ is full but I could still use another 80 gigs.

MusicMan

The iTMS download format is protected AAC. MPEG 1 layer 3 is a 10+ year old codec and doesn't compare well with newer codec's at lower bit-rates.

iTunes does contain an MP3 encoder though it's never wise to convert between compressed formats, it introduces audible artifacts.

You cannot transfer content from iTunes (downloaded or ripped) directly to the DJ. iTunes was created to (amongst other things) work seamlessly with iPod as a complete solution. You could, however, burn a CD with the iTMS tracks on and rip/transfer that using your software of choice. The results would be the same as converting from one compressed format to another which, as I've already mentioned, is not advisable.

I am not disputing the best method to buy and transfer tracks to the DJ. From feedback here it appears that Dudebox is essential but regarding which formats the other music stores are using, let me turn the argument on it's head with this question;

Q) Shouldn't they be supporting the world's current best selling player?
A) Yes & No

The short term argument is that they should but long-term, most are banking on WMA being the future dominant format, and they're probably right. I'm hoping that the rumours of Apple & MS getting together to devise a workaround which would be beneficial to everyone are true.

A useful addition to the good research you've already done would be to include the bit-rates of the tracks available for download.

I agree, let's keep it civil and rational ,

MM

__________________
1x iPod mini & 3x iPod (3rd Gen)
I use the world's most advanced OS on the fastest desktop computer available 'off-the-shelf'

MM's song recommendation, enjoy. (Updated 16th May)

taviz

Why do you think Walmart is a ripoff at 88 cents a song?

MusicMan

Also, whilst checking out AllofMP3.com, I noticed that they are selling Beatles bootlegs;

1) The Beatles (through Apple Corp's spokesman Geoff Baker) have stated that they will not allow online music sites to carry their recordings
2) They certainly aren't going to allow them to sell downloads of unreleased material!

It is not a legal online music store.

MM

__________________
1x iPod mini & 3x iPod (3rd Gen)
I use the world's most advanced OS on the fastest desktop computer available 'off-the-shelf'

MM's song recommendation, enjoy. (Updated 16th May)

berts420

To address Taviz, if you read my post above regarding why Itunes is a rip off, you will understand why I think Walmart is also a rip off. $.40-$.60 a track is a more reasonable price. You speak highly of walmarts downloads. Please explain, are they fast? what format? can you choose formats(ie mp3, aac, mp3pro, ogg vorbis)? How is the selection? what have you downloaded recently?

To address Music Man, I know allofmp3.com is in the grey area, but as far as I can tell it is a legitimate website. I just checked the RIAA's website and could not find a single word about allofmp3.com. Once they tell me that they do not endorse the website, I will stop using it. It is possible that I missed something, so if you can show me some documentation from the RIAA or another source regarding the legality of allofmp3.com it would be appreciated and helpful for everyone on the site. Also what does protected mean in protected aac? Are you limited to number of burns? do your tracks expire?

To everyone else, as I said before I want this thread to be as informative as possible, so please give your input on your expieriences with the sites above or other music download sites.

Oh yeah, I just downloaded Itunes to check it out. I'll let you know what I think in a while.

__________________
My DJ is full but I could still use another 80 gigs.

MusicMan

The day when the RIAA has jurisdiction over Russian businesses i'll buy a Wintel machine!

And here is the proof that ALLOFMP3 is acting illegally along with them selling bootlegs.

MM

__________________
1x iPod mini & 3x iPod (3rd Gen)
I use the world's most advanced OS on the fastest desktop computer available 'off-the-shelf'

MM's song recommendation, enjoy. (Updated 16th May)

berts420

I would have atleast thought they would have made a statement condeming allofmp3.com and admitting thay they are unable to do anything about it and proclaiming that it is illegal in the US if you download from allofmp3.com.

I wasn't saying anything about jurisdiction,The jurisdiction topic really is another thread also, because then we get into the market and capitilism and how the world is a whole lot more connected with the internet.

I have heard other people proclaim that allofmp3.com is illegal ans so I am issuing a challenge for someone to show us some documentaion. I will do a little more research myself, but again as far as I know it is a legitimate website, and the Digital Millenium act does not apply to it. Check out this link for the DMA:

http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

__________________
My DJ is full but I could still use another 80 gigs.

MusicMan

It would seem that, at least for the time being, ALLOFMP3 is a legitimate site, depending on how you interpret their disclaimers when you sign up.

I therefore have no qualms about publishing this list of albums that are available to download from them at no charge.

Regarding the RIAA condemning the site, this would be viewed as a defeat as they cannot stop them trading. Which (according to the above article) they found out when they DID try to shut them down.

MM

__________________
1x iPod mini & 3x iPod (3rd Gen)
I use the world's most advanced OS on the fastest desktop computer available 'off-the-shelf'

MM's song recommendation, enjoy. (Updated 16th May)

berts420

Thanks for clearing that up. Great article, now is that site a site that you trust? I personally have not heard of museekster.com.

Like I said before allofmp3.com is probably in the grey area sort how the dutch get away coffeeshops? I will amend my original post and add your link. Thanks again.

__________________
My DJ is full but I could still use another 80 gigs.

MusicMan

How's your peruse around iTunes going?

MM

__________________
1x iPod mini & 3x iPod (3rd Gen)
I use the world's most advanced OS on the fastest desktop computer available 'off-the-shelf'

MM's song recommendation, enjoy. (Updated 16th May)