3 replies to this topic

[frax]

Hi,

I think it is about time for me to try to move off CDs as the medium for music. I can afford to buy my music, and I want to support the artists I like (most of them are smaller).

So I want to buy music for downloads, and my requirements are:
* No DRM
* No lock in to any specific software
* Good quality files. I can live without lossless, but that would be good.
* Good selection - I don't want to chase around to that many different stores to find the music I want.
* It's gotta be available in Europe.

Does anyone else use a service for this?

I looked at the new amazonmp3 service - and that looked very good, and they had an album that I am looking for right now (Jose Gonzalez latest, released today) - but you can't buy stuff there outside the US...

[Adam Wilbert]

Your answer might largely depend on your music player brand and its requirements. Personally, I still buy CDs and immediately rip them to MP3. I doubt I've even listened to the last dozen or so CDs that I've purchased directly from the CD. I just treat the discs as "master originals" and leave them on the shelf. That gives me the peace of mind that, when formats settle down or when I get more hard drive space, or whatever, I can always go back to the original disc and re-rip it to a lossless format of my choosing. Always and without having to deal with any DRM issues or file compatability problems or whatever. Thats just my two cents though. Plus, I'm a cover art / disc jacket / jewel case hound...
-Adam

[kass]

www.emusic.com is still around. Its got an oddball pricing scheme you'll have to look in to, but the mp3's do come out cheaper. You can get "around" the subscription by just canceling your account, then re-opening before two months, because thats when they'll actually delete your account. Thats been working for me at least. Lots of good, smaller artists, but its spotty, so it would probably be best used as a supplement to amazon's mp3s if you want to skip CD's.

[frax]

Thanks for the tips. I found this place homedownloads.com (a Swedish site), which I gave a shot yesterday, but I wasn't too impressed with the interface, and I bought DRM:d (but not restricted) WMA-files. (which I can't convert to anything else).

A friend recommended 7digital.com - and I'll give these guys a shot next...