There can be little doubt that music downloads really are the way of the future when it comes to purchasing songs and albums. For that reason, it really does pay for everyone to have at least a basic understanding of how it works. The tips and guidance below can prove extremely useful in that regard.
If you are on the Internet looking for free music downloads, you have to be extremely careful. Downloading music without paying is illegal and is punishable by law. Another reason you want to avoid this is because hackers use music downloads as a way to send viruses to your computer.
A great tip when downloading music is to preview similar artists on itunes. Most of the time, itunes will show a dozen of similar songs and artists on the right whenever you highlight a song in your library. This can be a great way to discover new music that you like.
If you download music from the Internet, it is vital that you always cover yourself with current anti-virus software. It is better to stay safe instead of ending up sorry. Make sure to be safe when you download. Using P2P can be risky. Scan files every time before you open them. If you forget, you can easily find that you’ve download something harmful.
If you really love an artist, check out their website for music. Most bands maintain an online presence where they offer information on music and tours, and they will sometimes offer free music there. This might include otherwise unreleased tracks or a song off of a new album they are trying to promote.
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.
Never download any music without having a current antivirus program running on your computer. This is essential because it will protect your computer in two ways when it comes to downloading music files. First, it scans the file to ensure it is safe, and if anything is downloaded that isn’t safe, the virus program detects this and can remove the virus or harmful file.
Any website that offers legal music downloads will have a copyright notice somewhere on their site. This notice will show that the site’s owners are authorized to sell and distribute the music legally online. This notice should also tell you what you are and are not allowed to do with the music after you purchase.
Use Google’s music service when you are using a smartphone. This can help save you a lot of time and money when downloading. It’s only $10 a month, quite affordable.
If you’re someone that enjoys a few different songs from artists, you should purchase their whole album. In most instances, buying entire albums can prove to be cheaper than purchasing single tracks, regardless of the retailer. It also gives you the opportunity to explore more and listen longer. You can even find a song that you love.
Keep an eye on bit rates and compression formats. Even a great song isn’t enjoyable if the quality is terrible. Different sites and distributors can vary on their sound quality. Shop around. Pay attention to the quality of the files you are downloading, and only buy music that sounds like it should.
If you are looking for music for your iPod, consider a subscription based site. There are several available, and they allow users access to a huge library of tunes for a one time membership. In most cases, the membership is for life. This is a great way to save money while still finding the music that you love.
If there are certain songs that you always listen to, create an offline playlist of your music downloads instead of streaming them from the cloud. This is especially important if you’re on a cellular data plan. These cloud files can eat up a lot of your monthly data plan. But if the songs are saved right on the device, it uses none of that data bucket at all.
Make sure that the sites that you get your music downloads from are secure and safe. Even sites that are legal paid downloads could allow malicious software to enter your computer. You should avoid music websites that have a ton of pop-up ads. Some may contain viruses, spyware, adware, and the like.
Getting music by way of downloads is something that cannot be ignored. It truly represents the future of the music industry, and anyone wishing to participate needs to get on board. We hope that the ideas and concepts presented in the above article prove highly valuable to music lovers everywhere.