Cheapest legal MP3 tracks/albums article

datimms

I was surprised to see that there is no "cheapest legal MP3 provider" article. I know that the industry is competitive and a lot of sites probably charge very similar prices, however I wouldn't know where to start looking.

For example, how much should I pay for tracks, albums, subscription services...

Please could we see this added or could someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks
Dave

Marty_J

Play.com has pretty cheap downloads. Tracks are around 70p, and albums are around £6.99 vs. the market leader iTunes where tracks are normally 79p and albums are usually £7.99 (though some are more and some are less).

Play's mp3s are DRM free so they can be used on any device which supports the format, including iPods.

iTunes offers AAC files with DRM and "iTunes plus" tracks which don't have DRM. iTunes' DRM'd tracks are only complatibe with iPods, whereas the DRM free iTunes plus tracks will play on any device which supports the AAC format.

Play's tracks are encoded in mp3 at 192 kbps or 320 kbps. iTunes DRM'd tracks are encoded in AAC at 128 kbps (the equivalent of a 160 kbps mp3), which is not as good quality-wise as Play's tracks. The DRM-free iTunes plus tracks are encoded in AAC at 256 kbps, which offers the same quality as Play's 320 kbps files (AAC is a newer more efficient codec than mp3).

Between the two, iTunes probably has the largest selection of tracks, 2 million of which are DRM-free.