| The WWW abounds in websites that offer music downloads. Some sites charge per digital music download, whereas other services require a monthly fee for a limitless number of music downloads. It has been reported that CD sales are in decline (19% in the last couple of years), and online music download sales are rapidly increasing. According to some estimates, revenues from online music sales almost tripled last year, with iTunes by Apple accounting for over 85 percent of single track downloads. Still, this does not mean that Apple is the only source of online music. At present, lawful music download sites account for approximately 6% of record studios' revenues, which is a growth compared to the situation two years ago.
Music download sites come in two types: 'rent' and 'buy' websites. 'Rent' services are music services involving a monthly fee paid to obtain access to the whole music databank. 'Buy' sites charge per soundtrack - iTunes, for example - where a track can be burned onto a CD provided that it is paid for. The CD can then be ripped to the pc. Some digital music sites offer to pay a monthly fee for unlimited listening rights, but also charge to buy a track.
Some online music download services charge 9 cents per track. In addition, these services have soundtracks that can be downloaded in any common audio format and quality level. Sometimes music download services are so cheap and easy to use that a great many people prefer to download soundtracks from these sites instead of ripping CD collections onto the computer.
For any person downloading tracks onto an iPod or iTunes, it is probably the best option. For any music not being downloaded onto an iPod, any other music source will work. When seeking the optimum quality music downloads, one should look for music download services containing the largest selection of music that is updated on a regular basis, and superb quality downloads. Commonly, the price is directly dependent on quality. In this case, a question arises: Is it worth spending a few extra cents? The answer is typically 'YES'. |
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