TuneChecker.com: Find the cheapest MP3 downloads ...

[MSE Archna]

This thread is to discuss:

www.TuneChecker.com

It finds you the cheapest MP3 single & album downloads

[mfraser]

Please note that some retailers listed only support Windows and Mac as they require an installer to be downloaded. So no HMV, Tesco or SkyTunes for me.

[All4ABargain]

FANTASTIC!!!! Thank you to all at MSE who put their time and effort into this - I've searched for quite a few albums and tracks, and it works great!!! Having spent the last 2 weeks trying to individually compare mp3 prices, and wishing a tool like this exisited, I am really delighted to see this!!

[rafraf03]

Fantastic Tool !

Just a quick note that echoes what mfraser mentions to say that eventhough some tracks are not limited (in the number of plays, or time) they may not be DRM free. This is probably the case of the retailers mfraser mentions, but it is true of iTunes as it allows them to track sales, playtimes etc...

Good job Martin on that one ! (wish I'd had the idea !)

[Sparky67]

I can't find this on Facebook - the webpage doesn't load properly and you can't click to follow on the page and it doesn't come up if you search Facebook?

[Ardsguy]

Job well done! But the tesco site keeps telling me the download is currently unavailable in a dialogue box, and their "Help" isn't brilliant, I'm a mac user though.

Spotify it is for the next while...

[russell07]

Good work - the finished product now looks excellent. Well done!

[Fuchsia_a]

I think this site needs a warning on it that individual mp3 downloads may not be cheaper than a subscription plan from an alternative provider if you're downloading a large number of tracks regularly.

I used emusic for a while and my subscription worked out at about 22p per track when mp3 downloads elsewhere were averaging around 49p-80p per track on the other main sites. It wouldn't surprise me if subscription sites are still cheaper if you're downloading a lot of tracks on a regular basis.

[glossyhair]

Thank you to the MSE team for giving us a fantastic tool! Anything that helps my music budget go further gets a huge thumbs up from me

Martin, you deserve a knighthood for all your endeavours. What I have learnt on this site has changed my financial life around completely and I am sure that I am not the only one. Somehow, thank you does not seem sufficient

(Just having a wee gratitude moment there )

[soggybottom]

I agree with Fuchsia. If you download least 10 songs per month (less then 1 album) subscription is pretty much always cheaper.

I use Sky Songs and ANY track (top 10 or old stuff) is one credit = 65p..... As a subscriber, I get 10 included tracks per month (which is about what I need) so it brilliant value + I get unlimited streaming of every other song ever released....

emusic and a few others are the same I think...... Spotify is similar but costs the same £6.49 as Sky and has NO included downloads so costs more long term.

Stay Soggy.

Originally Posted by Fuchsia_a

I think this site needs a warning on it that individual mp3 downloads may not be cheaper than a subscription plan from an alternative provider if you're downloading a large number of tracks regularly.

I used emusic for a while and my subscription worked out at about 22p per track when mp3 downloads elsewhere were averaging around 49p-80p per track on the other main sites. It wouldn't surprise me if subscription sites are still cheaper if you're downloading a lot of tracks on a regular basis.

[dmcallister1506]

Absolutely brilliant. I've been looking for a tool like this for a long time. I normally use Tesco and 7 Digital so it's great to see that Tesco is cheaper a lot of the time.
Thanks for this - I'll use it constantly.

[oranabana]

sorry to barge in on this one, but whats wrong with http://mp3.baidu.com (apart from being in Chinese, it works perfectly well for finding tunes)

[Phillip Hartley]

I just found BOTH my albums on there and I've never even heard of it before today. How can this be I wonder?

[Dave F.]

I'm getting an error "sorry we've encountered an error..." before it returns to display it's last successful find.

Is it limiting itself to just the top 40?

I tried 'The Jesus & Mary Chain' & 'Tindersticks' but got the error.
'New Order' resulted in only two albums & three singles. There's definitely more than that.

Any ideas what the problem is?

Cheers
Dave F.

[mfraser]

Originally Posted by rafraf03

Fantastic Tool !

Just a quick note that echoes what mfraser mentions to say that eventhough some tracks are not limited (in the number of plays, or time) they may not be DRM free. This is probably the case of the retailers mfraser mentions, but it is true of iTunes as it allows them to track sales, playtimes etc...

Good job Martin on that one ! (wish I'd had the idea !)

It isn't that they have DRM, but that they require their own software to download the files. Which as I'm a Linux user restricts the sites I can use and why I use Amazon as they do provide a downloaded that I can use.

[Earl Purple]

Read about it and just tried it out with a search.

Looked up Sambassadeur - Days.
That is a track I bought yesterday.

The search revealed immediately that it was a single before it looked on sites for it. Interesting that tunechecker knows this information. Does it have a database of artist/title information? Maybe they can provide me what I've been looking for for several years, which is a decent search engine for new release singles.

The search revealed that the track is not available at iTunes but it is. I bought it there yesterday for 79p. I searched iTunes again and it was still there.

It would be useful for the site to give not only the price but the quality (bitrate) and format of the track at each site. I got "stung" at tesco in May 2008 when they relaunched their site with 128kbps bitrates and didn't warn anyone and then refused to refund me on two tracks I unwillingly purchased at that bitrate. Therefore I am reluctant to use tesco again even if they're cheaper.

[Earl Purple]

I have just visited the Tesco download site. Nowhere on the entire site could I find it mentioning what bitrate you get. So you have to buy it to find out and then can't return it.

Please, given that those on this site have a lot more influence than I do, try to force tesco to explain more clearly what you are actually buying.

[Ugi]

Is it unfair of me to point out that when TuneChecker says your track is cheapest at Tesco, for example, you would save an additional few % (8% in this case) by going to Tesco through TopCashBack etc rather than direct from TuneChecker?

It's a great tool, and I'm not knocking it in the least, but it's what MSE would suggest we did when buying car insurance!

[MSE Archna]

Originally Posted by Ugi

Is it unfair of me to point out that when TuneChecker says your track is cheapest at Tesco, for example, you would save an additional few % (8% in this case) by going to Tesco through TopCashBack etc rather than direct from TuneChecker?

It's a great tool, and I'm not knocking it in the least, but it's what MSE would suggest we did when buying car insurance!

Hi Ugi,

In the FAQs on the LHS we include 'Cashback Boost' which explains all about it.

[Ugi]

Originally Posted by MSE Archna

Hi Ugi,

In the FAQs on the LHS we include 'Cashback Boost' which explains all about it.

Great!

I confess I hadn't spotted that - it seemed easy enough to use that I did not look into the FAQ. Certainly worth bearing in mind if you are looking for the very best deal.

Cheers

Ugi