Wired Magazine points out that TuneCore, a service that distributes the digital music of many, many artists to services like iTunes and eMusic, is offering the sale of short-run CDs. It may not make much sense to sell CDs when digital downloads are gaining ground (and seem to offer more convenience), but that’s not to say they won’t sell anything.
There’s even more reason to look for the best prices in downloadable music now. A Lifehacker reports shows Amazon and Wal-Mart have decided to enact variable pricing as well. So now that there are more variables in your shopping equation, and that means there’s more reason to look around.
To help you out, MacWorld points out Download Shopper as a potential source of information. Not sure how much more time you could save with a browser and three tabs searching, but it’s worth a shot.
The good news is that iTunes is finally free of digital rights management software, which means you can play whatever songs you buy from them wherever you want without artificial restrictions (your chosen player still has to handle the AAC format, but that’s the only hitch and most players do at this point). The less-than-good news is that pricing for the tracks in the iTunes store just got a little more confusing. Instead of a consistent 99¢ per track, price points can be 69¢, 99¢, or $1.29. At this point, looks like most of the songs stay at 99¢ with back catalog going for 69¢ — unless that back catalog is still pretty popular. In that case, it looks like those tracks join current hits at $1.29. The extra 30¢ isn’t that much individually, but it does add up. And now is hardly the time to be raising prices of anything.
Until this all shakes out, remember that you can comparison shop with other services like Amazon — look for the best deals, and vote with your dollar (more or less).
If you’re feeling a little adventurous, and you’re tired of looking for free music track samples all over the place, click this link. Amazon has collected together some great samplers of tracks from independent record labels (they’re the future, I’ve heard) like Barsuk, Anti, Sub-Pop and more. Those names alone include artists like Death Cab for Cutie, Neko Case, Booker T., Michael Franti and more. And they’re all free, both in terms of cost and guilt.
If you want to keep looking, just search “free mp3 sampler” on Amazon and see what turns up. It’s not illegal if they’re giving it away. Still, be sure to buy some albums from the artists you listen to if you like what you hear. Otherwise, you’re just standing in a virtual supermarket, filling up on the free samples.
When you’re talking about downloading music, Amazon, iTunes and eMusic are great because of the selection - you can get just about anything you might want, you can preview the tracks, and they’re on your computer for a small price legally in just a few seconds (depending on your download speed). They’re huge marketplaces - kind of like the big box stores of music. But part of the allure of a music store (at least for the hardcore fan) is going in and finding things you weren’t looking for, lurking beneath the radar. Sure, setting up an online music store is a difficult proposition when you take into account licensing, hardware needs, and so on, but the wide-open possibilities can surely include the boutique music store as well, right?
Is it too early to start talking about the Super Bowl yet? If you’re a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Arizona Cardinals, or greasy and grilled foodstuffs, probably not. Now that the participants have been finalized, you can start making plans for your Super Bowl party. There are a few online tools to help you get your invitations and provisions organized: (more…)
In the last post, I talked about the benefits of buying music outright through services like iTunes or Amazon. If you prefer your music to change often and you’re not too attached to keeping old files around, subscription services like Zune or Rhapsody may be the best way to go. Think of it like a version of Netflix for music - as long as you keep the bills paid, you’ll get to keep whatever the service has in its library around.
If you’ve received a new digital media player this holiday season or you’re just now looking at buying music online, you’re faced with a decision as to whether you’ll buy the actual files from places like iTunes or Amazon or subscribe to a music service like Rhapsody or Microsoft’s Zune Pass. The correct answer depends on how you listen to your music.
Author of MySpace For Dummies
A bass guitarist with an Internet addiction and lots of experience researching and writing about all things online.
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