Download Music for Free Online and Boost Your Playlist
It's certainly no surprise that Internet music downloads have increased
dramatically. In just one year - from 2004 to 2005 - downloaded songs jumped
from 500,000 per year to over 500,000 per week! But with copyright, DRM and
privacy issues, is it advisable to download music for free online?
The answer is yes, but with caveats. Recording industry associations are
aggressively pursuing illegal downloading activity. So first make certain any
free mp3 files you download are legal. In most cases that excludes P2P
file-sharing services, as most lawsuits against individuals result from this
activity.
Nevertheless, statistics and estimates indicate that music downloading is
rapidly escalating. In 2004, 20% of all music acquired was downloaded from the
Internet, while shipments of recorded music from 1999 to 2004 declined by nearly
20%.
Finding Legal Free MP3 Music Download Files is Easy
Go to your favorite search engine or directory and do a music search using
keywords like "listen music free" or "listen to free online music," and you'll
find thousands of web pages. Specialized mp3 search engines also list many
sites. The two types of download sites to look for are:
- Web sites created by the musicians themselves. These artists know if
they give away some of their songs they'll increase demand and ultimately
sales of their CD's. And it boosts their public image.
- Sites created for free music distribution invite musicians to upload
songs their fans can download at no cost. Many of these sites specialize in
music of a specific genre like hip-hop or jazz, offering free song downloads
from various musicians.
Pay Close Attention to Downloadable Music File Formats and DRM
Music files only work on devices compatible with the file format. For
example, Apple's iTunes are AAC format, so unless you have an iPod you may be
out of luck. Napster music download files, on the other hand are in WMA format
which won't work on iPods.
Free software is available to convert WMA to MP3 and other format
conversions, but sound quality usually suffers when converting from one lossy
format to another. And DRM can further complicate the issue.
Most online pay download services encode music files with DRM (Digital Rights
Management) that limits file copying and converting. Always check compatibility
of the downloaded files and devices you intend to play the songs on, especially
when paying for music downloads.
For more information on these issues see
Free Music
Downloads and Related
Articles.
Summary: You can download music for free online provided it's
from a legal source and the downloaded file matches the format you need. It's a
great way to build your music collection, but do a little homework so you're not
wasting your time.
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