How To Find Legal Music Downloads
With the proliferation of music download sites available, it can be difficult to decipher which ones offer legal music downloads and which ones ought to be avoided. Truthfully, most of the illegal file-sharing sites have been shut down, and most of what is available is legal. But it is important to understand that there are still some sites offering illegal music downloads and how to avoid them.
No Such Thing as a Free Song
Legal music download sites have the permission of each song’s rights holder to offer their music for download. Because music is a business, those artists will likely have wanted something in exchange for allowing their music to be shared, such as a fee per song. The sites, in turn, then charge users a fee (usually either per song, per month, or per year) and the artist gets a share of that fee.
When a site doesn’t charge some kind of fee, there is a good chance that they are offering illegal music downloads. Note that this rule does not refer to site offering a free trial period after which users are charged a fee. This is a common practice and is a legitimate way for download sites to get you to try out their service.
Know Your Limits
A site offering legal music downloads will generally distribute music that comes from reputable sources. The upshot of that is that the site will not offer the kind of large files that will slow down your connection, such as computer games and movies. Offering only small music files is the legitimate site’s way of assuring the music industry that their music will not be intermixed with files that are being offered without permission.
Pump Up the Volume?
Legal music downloads will usually be made available on a per-song basis, allowing you to purchase only the songs you really want, rather than spending the money on an entire album just to get a few, or possibly even one, good songs. Although you can download music one song at a time on a legal download site, these sites will also put a limit on how many songs you can download in a set period of time, as well as limits on transfer rates. This is done in an effort to prevent dishonest customers from rigging up their computers to copy mass numbers of files in a short period of time.
4. Quality, Not Quantity
Most sites offering legal music downloads don’t have the right to distribute a massive number of songs. The songs for which they do have permission are usually stored on a server with a fixed amount of space, which is different from the tangled computer-to-computer file transfer set up used by the illegal sites. Further, legal sites will likely have a more limited selection than the illegal ones because they probably won’t have been able to secure an agreement from every record label to distribute their music.
These are just a few things to look for when trying to find a site for legal music downloads online. One further word of caution: Look for a copyright notice. Ensure that you know exactly what rights the site owners have concerning the music you are about to download, and what you are permitted – or forbidden – to do with the files once you download them.
Remember: The goal is to download music legally. Look for a legal download site using these guidelines and the information found at Compare Music Download Sites to make an informed decision, and you’ll be enjoying your favourite tunes in no time, from the comfort of your own home.
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