With invention of the Internet, downloading music has never been easier. No longer does one need to go to the store and purchase CDs; one simple click of a mouse and you can get any song you want. Here is some information about music downloads to help you take advantage of this convenience.
A good tip to consider when you’re downloading music is to organize the music you download into a neat folder. You don’t want to lose any of the music that you bought and paid for. It’s important that you have it all organized so that you can easily access it when you want.
Always use an antivirus program when downloading music. You want to be on the safe side, here. Be careful about downloads. If you use a P2P client, this is of particular importance. After you download a file, make sure you scan it with your anti-virus program before you attempt to open it. It is all too easy to acquire dangerous viruses and malware.
Free Music Archive and The Internet Archive offer free music that is completely legal to download. Check them out if you are working on building your collection. They often contain music from obscure or lesser known artists, and the music spans every genre. Downloading is simple once you are at the site.
Watch the file sizes of your music downloads carefully. A normal music download will be somewhere between 2 megabytes and 5 megabytes. If you see something much less or much more, there could be something fishy about the file. It may be spyware and not the song you were hoping it was.
If you are worried about the legality of the site you are downloading from, the easiest way to tell is if they charge you for each song. If there are no charges associated with the music you are downloading, then the website is probably stealing music and you could end up breaking the law.
If you are looking for free, legal music downloads, consider using a free music archive. A couple popular ones are Free Music Archive and The Internet Archive. These are nonprofit sites that contain all kinds of free, legal music from many genres. These are great for securely and legally experiencing some new artists or getting some rare tracks from some of your favorites.
Try registering an account with a major online music retailer. Getting accounts with some popular ones like Amazon and iTunes can give you access to many old and new tracks. Amazon has over 20 million songs in its database, while iTunes has over 500, 000 in its database. You are sure to find something that you like, and having an account can make checkout faster. You can also get some great recommendations based on your previous purchases.
You may want to purchase an entire album by an artist, as long as you like a number of the songs. You’ll often find the album much cheaper than if you bought the songs each individually. You also have lots of music to explore and enjoy. You might even discover a new favorite song.
Pay attention to music formats. Music files come in many different formats. Some of these formats are specific to certain music players or music playing devices. Don’t download music you can’t use. What are you going to use to listen to the music you’re downloading? Determine the type of file you will need.
You have to always pay attention to the size of the files you’re downloading. A music file is going to regularly be anywhere between two and five megabytes. If you notice anything much smaller than this, beware. This is usually only going to be a text file and might contain a harmful virus.
When you finally have a service for downloading music, make sure you take the time to learn about the service. You might want to jump in and play some tracks, but if you educate yourself about the service you’re using, you will find it easier to use. You might even find some great features.
The Internet Archive has a large catalog of music for you to choose from. In addition to archiving websites, it offers an enormous catalog of mp3s that can be downloaded free. They’re trying to archive the whole World Wide Web, and that gives you the opportunity to get some music for free.
To avoid getting ripped off when downloading music, choose a website that is popular such as Amazon, Rhapsody or iTunes. These popular download services are generally more secure than lesser known ones since they have to maintain their reputation. Therefore, you don’t have to worry as much about having your personal information stolen.
If you’re a music lover and using a paid downloading site, always look for deals on certain music by browsing. Some songs and albums will be available at a discount, and buying a whole album is going to prove much cheaper than buying individual songs in the long run. Of course, some people only want a specific song, but music lovers often enjoy a whole album.
Only buy music from websites that permit you to download directly with no reliance on software. The exception is if the music service is reputable and safe, like iTunes. If you come to a website that is little-known, proceed with caution. Any service touting that it is free of charge is probably putting nasty software on your machine.
As this above article already mentioned, it’s very simple to download pretty much any song you are looking for these days. But, to be sure you are really taking of advantage of what these downloads offer, it is helpful to have information. Use the tips above and enjoy downloading music.
