Download Music For MP3

-    At 99 cents a track, it's going to cost you around $7,425.00 to fill a 30GB iPod with iTunes music - that's a lot of money!

-    Music purchased from iTunes is in AAC format, which doesn't work on any MP3 player apart from the iPod.  That means if you have some other player, you have 2 options:

• convert your iTunes music to MP3 format using a converter.
• burn it to CD, rip it back into iTunes in MP3 format, then upload it to your player.

Not exactly user-friendly!

These days, there's no reason on earth why downloading music for MP3 players should be either expensive or difficult. Despite what Apple would have you believe, there are many legitimate alternatives to iTunes. These fall into two broad camps, which for simplicity's sake, I'm going to label here as "white hat" and "gray hat"

"White hat" is the term I'm using to describe download music sites which are legally pure as driven snow. All their content is either free from copyright, or licensed for download, with artists being paid a download fee. 

White hat sites usually charge a monthly fee to download music for MP3 players, although some sites also charge a per download fee for premium tracks (usually those by "big name" artists on major record labels). Be careful which white hat service you choose, as many deliver their downloads in an encoded format which can't be played on iPods, and others offer a 2-tier service, the lower of which only "rents" you the music - you can only play it on a nominated computer, you can't transfer it by burning it to CD or uploading it to an MP3 player.

eMusic

eMusic is the world's largest retailer of independent music and the world's second-largest digital music retailer overall, offering more than 2 million tracks from more than 13,000 independent labels spanning every genre of music.  eMusic targets consumers who are interested in music outside the commercial mainstream.

Features:

• 100% legal downloads.
• 3 subscription packages priced from $9.99 - $14.99 per month which entitle you to between 30 and 75 music downloads for MP3 players per month, which at their cheapest, work out at about 19 cents per download.
• Free "Download of the Day" - provides an extra 30 free tracks per month in addition to your subscription limit!
• Free 25-track trial over 14 days - try before you buy.
• Compatible with all MP3 players, including iPod
• Music reviews and columns by professional music journalists.
• Lots of additional features for members.
• Available in Windows and Mac versions.

Rhapsody

Rhapsody is the music download wing of the Real Network (who run RealPlayer). It's a full-on legal music download service.

Features:

• 100% legal downloads - artists are paid from your subscription fee.
• Unlimited downloads for a monthly fee ($12.99 or $14.99, depending on subscription type).
• Rent (can't use on MP3 players) or buy (can use on MP3 players) your downloads.
• 14-day free trial period - try the service without paying a cent!
• Available for Windows, Mac and Linux
• Rhapsody downloads are in encoded format, which means you can't directly import Rhapsody downloads to an iPod without converting them to MP3 format first.
• Available to U.S residents only.

A little different from standard music download programs, Radiotracker Platinum is software which automatically records and downloads the music you select when it is played on internet radio, filtering out advertorial content and adding fade in/out transitions automatically. It is legal to record internet radio for private use.

Features:

• 100% legal downloads.
• Unlimited downloads for one-off purchase of software - $39.90
• Built-in database of over 80,000 artists, automatic access to 18,000 internet radio stations, with ability to add more.
• Downloads are standard MP3 format, complete with ID3 tags and compatible with all players, including iPod.
• Free 25-track trial - available without submitting payment details.
• Low bandwidth usage.
• Automatic ad/jingle remover, fade in/out, volume normalization
• Available for Windows only.

"Gray hat" download sites are little more tricky than their white hat cousins.  Use of the software is perfectly legal, but when it comes to downloading music for MP3 players, there are a few things you need to be aware of.  Gray hat sites are generally peer-to-peer (often described as P2P) networks, with users sharing music and video files between themselves.  Some gray hats may have a mix of licensed and file sharing content.

You are fine if you download content which is not in copyright, or where the artist has given permission for his or her work to be shared online. Unfortunately, much of the music on file sharing networks does not fall into either of these camps - it's work by major artists whose record companies have struck no downloading or sharing deal with the download site. So in uploading or downloading that music, you may well be infringing copyright. One way to stay safe is to ensure that you keep your own music files and folders safe from prying eyes by disabling upward file sharing options on your computer.

Since you are paying for ad-free downloads and technical support rather than artists royalties, subscription fee rates are significantly lower than on white hat sites, with either a small monthly charge, or a one-off payment equivalent to roughly the cost of 2 CDs for lifetime access.

Features:

• Focuses on legal sharing, with legal downloads from 850 bands and 20,000 live concerts.
• Very low subscription fees (starting from $3.14/month for unlimited downloads)
• Compatible with all MP3 players, including iPods
• Compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux and AOL.
• 24/7 technical support with fast response times.

Features:

• Unlimited downloads of music, movies and games.
• 3 membership options, from $1.37/month to $34.95 for lifetime membership.
• 56-day satisfaction guarantee.
• Technical support Mon-Fri office hours
• Compatible with all MP3 players.
• Compatible with Windows and Mac.

Features:

• Unlimited downloads of music, movies and games.
• Access 6 peer-to-peer networks.
• 3 membership options, from $0.99/month to $26.88 for lifetime membership.
• 7-day satisfaction guarantee.
• Compatible with all MP3 players.
• Compatible with Windows and Mac.
• Technical support available 7 days a week.