If you use an Ipod/MP3 player, how do you download music?

[Sabine]

As stated in my other thread, I''ve never used an ipod or mp3 player. I''d like to get one, but I''m still confused about the whole downloading music thing.

I used to download music back before it became illegal to do it for free, but haven''t really looked into it since.

So if you download music, do you use Itunes, or are there other pay-per-song sites out there that are popular that I haven''t heard of? Can you use Itunes if you don''t have a brand specific Ipod? How much do songs cost now, anyway? Any other tips?

 

[katamari]

I really enjoy having a digital music player. I am sure you will, too.

The basic difference between the types of download services are whether or not you own the music files and are allowed to download them to your computer or not.

For the services that allow you to purchase and download songs, most of the songs cost $1 each with albums costing between $10 (the majority) and $15. The most ubiquitous of these services is iTunes, but Amazon also has a service, as do several record labels. Physically owning the files allows you to use them how you want. You can burn CDs, make playlists with tracks from different albums, and be able to have the files stored should your music player become lost or stolen. The huge upside is that you can upload any music (digital or CD format) that you already own to your library. You don''t have to actually spend anything past the cost of the device to use it unless you choose. The downside is that you have to physically have space to store the files (and music collections can become quite large) and you will probably end up using iTunes.

The subscription services, like Rhapsody or the new Napster, have you pay a monthly fee of generally $10 and gives you streaming access to their collection. With these, you think of a song you want to hear, you type it in a search, click on it, and play it. You can do this as many times as you want, but you don''t ever own the songs. If you have a real revolving music taste or if you mainly listen to singles (because $1 a song adds up faster than $10 an album, generally), this might be worth it. From what I understand--I have never had one--you need wifi access to use the portable players, since you only stream the songs and don''t physically possess the files.

I have an iPod and an iPhone, so I use iTunes. I actually fought it very hard and used lots of other programs before I finally just accepted that iTunes is what I would have to use. It is a huge and buggy program that really weighs down your CPU (at least if you run it on Windows or Linux--I don''t use Apple computers, so I cannot speak to how it runs on those). If you have a slower computer or need to use several intensive computer programs at a time, it can really make everything slow and laggy. If you only generally use one program at a time or have a top-of-the-line computer, you probably won''t notice. Apple is also incredibly propitiatory, and they make it as difficult as they can for users to transfer the files. I would also assume it is more difficult to use non-Apple products with iTunes, but this is just my speculation. iTunes songs are a different file type than most other formats (they don''t use .mp3) and to move the files, you have to burn CDs and use those CDs to move the files. For most casual users, this won''t be a problem, but I just mention it as possible drawbacks. Even with these complaints, I still love my iPod.

 

[Clio]

I use iTunes and Amazon. Mostly iTunes, but as great as the collection is, iTunes doesn't have everything.

I have an iPod, but I'm pretty sure you can use iTunes with other MP3 players as well.

 

[LGK]

I use iTunes sometimes and they always tick me off- so often files are corrupted, or they don''t have what I want. I have gone through a number of laptops in the last couple of years (thanks honey for breaking the screen every time- I wish he''d learn not to lift them by the screen!) and every time you change computers, you''re screwed. Transfering files from one computer to the other... well, basically I never figured out if there was any way except to rebuy stuff.

The thing I hate is that the places like the russian websites, like gomusic.ru, where you pay $2-$3 per album or ten cents per song are the easiest to use in terms of fast file transfer, non-buggy files, wide selection, and ease of use. So I occasionally use them if I can''t find an album elsewhere, and feel guilty (I''m not 100% sure but I think they are not paying copyright use propery).

(I tend to listen mostly to actual CDs I already own nowadays anyway- the RX-8''s radio doesn''t care much for the iPod broadcast thingy, or burned CDs- so most of the time, it''s a moot point for me.)

 

[Clio]

You can transfer files from one computer to another (just finished doing this for my new computer). The important thing is to de-authorize a computer if you''re not going to use it anymore. You can only have up to 5 computers authorized to play a song. We have 4 computers in use at any given time, so if we forget to de-authorize an old one when we''re upgrading, somebody''s out of luck.

I pretty much hate that. If I buy a song, I should be able to use it on as many computers as I''d like. I realize that it''s a hedge against piracy, but it''s a pain because we always forget.

 

[Indylady]

I haven''t figured this out either. I usually upload CD''s to my iTunes, and I sometimes borrow/share CD''s with my friends, but I''ve never downloaded music illegally or legally. I do have a very small iTunes.

 

[yssie]

I use - um. Friends'' playlists, mostly. CDs - between the two of us we have a ton of stuff. iTunes for what''s missing.


I keep my iTunes library obsessively organised but I only have about 10k songs; most of my friends have many times that. It''s a great way to make sure you don''t ever lose your entire library if your computer blows up - just re-upload from the iPod

 

[kama_s]

Downloading isn't illegal here in Canada!

Lately I have been tranferring all my CDs to my iTunes. I LOVE my iPod/iPhone - I actually bought the 2nd generation mp3 player when it first came out. Thinking back, I don't know how I survived on 32MB (yes, 32MB!!!!) considering I have over 15gigs of music!

 

[elrohwen]

I used to get it for free, but then it became a pain because some songs weren''t as advertised, and I had to keep switching applications as one got shut down.

Now I just use iTunes. I honestly don''t download that much stuff, so I probably spend less than $30 a year. Someone who downloads tons of music could end up spending a lot.