Re: [SLUG] Music Download Services

From: Paul M Foster (paulf@quillandmouse.com)
Date: Mon May 21 2007 - 00:36:25 EDT


Jonathon Conte wrote:
>> From: Paul M Foster <paulf@quillandmouse.com>
>> Reply-To: slug@nks.net
>> To: slug@nks.net
>> Subject: [SLUG] Music Download Services
>> Date: Sun, 20 May 2007 23:19:12 -0400
>>
>> Folks:
>>
>> I've got about all the CDs I want at this point, and am getting kinda
>> tired of buying a CD to get one song. So I thought maybe I'd move into
>> the 21st century with everyone else, and look into purchasing music by
>> the song.
>>
>> So does anyone know of services which currently allow downloading of
>> individual songs without DRM or the necessity to use someone's
>> proprietary player? BTW, I'm talking about *legal* downloads, folks.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>> --
>> Paul M. Foster
>
> Check out http://magnatune.com/ and http://www.allofmp3.com/. Despite
> the latter's name, additional formats besides MP3 are available. The
> legality of allofmp3 has been questioned by some so it may or may not
> meet your needs.
>

Magnatune apparently has a *very* limited selection. I say that because
the particular song I'm looking for is by a current band and is, I
believe, a Grammy winner.

Allofmp3 is an interesting place. They require a minimum payment of $10,
for which they allow 50+ song downloads. They have a sidebar something
to the effect of "Are Downloads Legal?". Their answer to that question is:

<quote>

The availability over the Internet of the Allofmp3.com materials is
authorized by the license # LS-3М-05-03 of the Russian Multimedia and
Internet Society (ROMS). In accordance to the licenses' terms
MediaServices pays license fees for all materials downloaded from the
site subject to the Law of the Russian Federation "On Copyright and
Related Rights". All these materials are solely for personal use. Any
further distribution, resale or broadcasting are prohibited.

...

</quote>

I just wonder if our beloved RIAA would go along with this. Moreover, I
have to wonder if my white butt is covered by their assurances.

> Also, keep in mind that while the MP3 format does not support digital
> restriction management like WMA and AAC, it is a proprietary codec that
> is patent encumbered. If you want to invest your money in a format that
> respects your freedom, then WAV, FLAC, and Ogg Vorbis are more
> appropriate formats to consider. Many portable digital audio players
> include Vorbis support and some offer FLAC as well. The iAudio U3 by
> Cowon is one such player but there are several others on the market today.
>

I love WAV format, just because it doesn't have lossy compression. But
the files are *huge*. Are there any non-lossy formats (without DRM etc.)?

Paul

-- 
Paul M. Foster

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