The Great "Cheapest Legal Music Downloads" Hunt.

richto

I have not seen any question over the legality of these sites since the Russian police confirmed that they were legally licensed under Russian law in March this year.

http://news.com.com/Legal+reprieve+for+Russian+MP3+site/2100-1027_3-5602743.html

Much to the annoyance of the IFPI.

Fran

richto wrote:

I have not seen any question over the legality of these sites since the Russian police confirmed that they were legally licensed under Russian law in March this year.

I think the point here though is that we have been politely asked not to mention those sites which includes debating the legalities as this thread is for music downloads that are definitely legal.

It would be a shame to lose this thread because of too many comments about sites which have a legal question mark over them and the comments that they then provoke.

gorilla

Alright, so we're not allowed to mention the cheapest 'legal' sites. So back to topic.
I don't think the music downloads sites are good value, especially when you consider the sound quality of the download.

I have not been able to find any cheaper than woolies, although I don't think anyone will. Monopoly, Cartel ring any bells. It's like buying a CD on the high street - total rip off.

crispyduck_2

I stumbled over this web site after trying to track down some guys who played at The Big Chill in Ledbury a few weekends ago, can sometime take a little while to go onto as it seems pretty popular and they have a lot of stuff even your kids won't have heard of!!!!!!

https://www.epitonic.com

Enjoy and as far as I have been able to ascertain this is all completely legal in the download department.

B

mandycl35

MYMUSICINC.COM you pay $17.00 for a years subscription.and it is legal

cashless_2

The US Amazon site offers free downloads. You can use a UK signon

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/468646/ref=m_mh_mn_dd/102-4836633-6699360

JK

The best deal of all has to be Emusic.com. They have a 50 free downloads trial offer. You simply sign up to their minimum package which is 9.99USD per month, download your 50 free tracks and cancel before you have to pay a penny (or should that be cent?).

Basically they don't take the first payment until you've downloaded the freebies and then decided to continue with the paid subscription. It's all absolutely legitimate, perfectly legal (copyright paid) and all the MP3's are encoded to VBR (variable bitrate), which is as near to CD quality as it gets.

They tend to have mainly independents and less known artists, plus some older stuff, but hey you're bound to find 50 songs you like and you can hear 30 second samples before you decide to download. They're very good for jazz and new age stuff. I've been a member for over a year.

http://www.emusic.com/promo.html

koru

After the 50 tracks free trial is over, eMusic cost about £1.50 per album, depending on how much you buy and how many tracks on the album. More details in my post here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=82503

safari_2

JK wrote:

The best deal of all has to be Emusic.com. They have a 50 free downloads trial offer. You simply sign up to their minimum package which is 9.99USD per month, download your 50 free tracks and cancel before you have to pay a penny (or should that be cent?).

Basically they don't take the first payment until you've downloaded the freebies and then decided to continue with the paid subscription. It's all absolutely legitimate, perfectly legal (copyright paid) and all the MP3's are encoded to VBR (variable bitrate), which is as near to CD quality as it gets.

They tend to have mainly independents and less known artists, plus some older stuff, but hey you're bound to find 50 songs you like and you can hear 30 second samples before you decide to download. They're very good for jazz and new age stuff. I've been a member for over a year.

http://www.emusic.com/promo.html

Isn't emusic one of those sites like Napster where if you stop subscribing you lose all your music?

The problem with a lot of these sites is that you cannot copy the downloaded music from your PC to your iPod, or burn them onto a CD to play in the car or the kitchen. If this is the case then you'll also lose all your purchased music when you upgrade your PC. Some allow limited copying and burning - I think iTunes is pretty good in this regard.

If you want cheap chart music, the only option is those Sites Which Must Not Be Mentioned. Part of the reason why those Sites Which Must Not Be Mentioned are so cheap is that the cost of a legit CD in Russia is about $3. Which makes you wonder why they cost 6 times that here...

koru

safari wrote:

Isn't emusic one of those sites like Napster where if you stop subscribing you lose all your music?

The problem with a lot of these sites is that you cannot copy the downloaded music from your PC to your iPod, or burn them onto a CD to play in the car or the kitchen. If this is the case then you'll also lose all your purchased music when you upgrade your PC. Some allow limited copying and burning - I think iTunes is pretty good in this regard.

No, eMusic give you completely unfettered ownership of the music. You can copy it to as many devices and as many times as you like.

I am still playing stuff I downloaded a year ago, despite having cancelled my membership.