Does it really matter if I download songs for free?
Many people think that there is nothing wrong with downloading music illegally and sharing these files with friends. They also tend to think that it can’t harm the big corporates and multi-national companies if they just download a few without paying here and there. After all, it’s only a few pennies worth of royalties to the performers isn’t it? Many young people consider free downloads as normal practice, and don’t see why they should pay for music at all.
The reality, of course, is that if everyone downloaded music and films without paying, it would amount to hundreds of millions of lost revenue for everyone who works within these industries – including writers, engineers, production people etc. as well as the creative artists themselves. Illegal downloading does makes a huge difference to the health and future of the music and video industries and threatens their very existence.
How do I know that I am downloading music legally?
As a general rule of thumb, if you are using a peer-to-peer (P2P) network, then you are probably downloading illegally. P2P networks allow internet users to transfer files directly, rather than through the use of a website or directory. File transfers are done directly from the users' computers.
Legal music downloads
There are hundreds of websites offering legal music downloads commercially. If you use these sites to purchase your music you can guarantee that the music files will be genuine and high quality, and that the artists and labels will receive the money they are due in royalties because the sites selling the music are licensed to do so.
Here are a few of the most popular sites:
How to download music
You will need:
- A computer or laptop
- An internet connection (preferably Broadband, and the faster the better)
- An account with a commercial digital music website
With all these sites, you will be asked to set up an online account, with a user ID and password, and then register a credit or debit card in order to pay for your downloads. If you find a music website that advertises legal downloads that does not require you to set up an account and payment details, it probably isn’t offering legal downloads!
When you set up accounts, passwords and payment information, take the usual care in terms of security. Look for SSL certificates, the padlock symbol or a site identity button that indicates that the site is authentic and will protect your data via encryption. See our tips on safe online shopping for more details.
Some digital music download sites (e.g. iTunes, Spotify) will require you to download software on to your computer that you use to play, organise, store and transfer your music to your iPod or mp3 player. As long as you check that you are using the official website (e.g. www.apple.com/itunes or www.spotify.com) it is perfectly safe to download the software. You will also receive regular reminders when there is an update to the software and will be given the opportunity to download the latest version, to make sure that your copy is up to date and contains all the latest features and enhancements. Bear in mind our usual advice to ensure that you have up to date anti-virus software, as an extra level of security.
Whether you are accessing the website’s music store directly, or using a music ‘player’ such as iTunes, the method for downloading songs or albums is usually quite straightforward. Although each site contains different features and different layouts and designs, many of the functions will be similar. You can usually navigate to the music you want via the website home page, or in the case of iTunes for example, click on the iTunes Store menu option within the software. From here you can browse by song, album and music genre, and there is also a comprehensive search function which will help you locate the music you want, by song title, album, artist etc.
Once you have found what you are looking for, most sites will allow you to listen to tracks for free before you purchase. Usually this is just a short excerpt (30 seconds on iTunes) but that is sufficient to at least check that you are buying the right track. The sites often include customer reviews of the music to help you make your choices. Prices vary between sites but you can expect to pay between £0.55 and £.099 per song, and between £7.99 and £9.99 for an album. However, in order to stay competitive, sites regularly feature special offers where the price per album can drop to £5 and below for selected releases.
When you have made your selection, you just click on the song(s) or album(s) you wish to purchase and the site will guide you through the process and then start downloading the music to your computer.
Managing, transferring and storing music
Once you have started to buy music downloads you will need to think about how you want to manage your music files.
Things to consider include:
- Do you want to store your music files on your computer, on an external hard drive, or on one of the many cloud computing services such as DropBox?
- How do you intend to back up your music to make sure you don’t lose it if your computer fails?
- Do you want to link your computer to your existing hi-fi or music system so that you can listen to it anywhere in the house?
Download limits
Broadband operators tend to set a limit of how much data you can download via your broadband connection during a month. Typically these will be set by file size, or by the number of songs. If you exceed these limits you may find that your supplier cuts your broadband speed significantly, or you are subject to additional charges. Suppliers also tend to recommend heavy use outside of peak hours, when demand is at its greatest.
It is advisable to check your limits with your supplier so that you do not exceed them accidently.
Free music downloads
Some commercial digital music websites offer free downloads, usually of a single song, in order to introduce new artists and albums to a wider audience. The ‘Single of The Week’ on iTunes is a good example of this, and an opportunity to sample music you might not otherwise have discovered. Similarly, some artists and record labels themselves have started to market themselves online by making downloads of new material available for free, as a ‘teaser’ to create interest in their latest release.
However, be aware that not all free downloads available online are legitimate or genuine. You may find that some sites offering free music downloads are in fact giving you cover versions – not the real artists you expect to be listening to. At the same time they may also be gathering lots of information about you and subsequently filling your email in box with hundreds of “special offers”. Such sites may look too good to be true, and usually they are. Take a close look at the terms and conditions that you’re agreeing to. You may be signing up to receive “email promotions and other solicitations” from the site and from anyone else they may be in partnership with.
Unless you are certain that the free download site is safe and reputable, it’s usually simpler and much safer to pay for downloads from commercial sites.
