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Bucket

I've tried to avoid it [MP3 service]

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I think I'm finally going to break down and subscribe to an MP3 service. What do you think is the best based on:

Selection
Price
Format options
Software that doesn't hijack your PC

FYI: My current PMP is an 8Gb Sony Walkman that also plays video.

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Hmm, that might work, I already buy stuff from Amazon.

Another question: how does syncing work? I'm used to transferring files manually. What happens when your collection takes up more space than your player has?

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When purchasing music I prefer to actually buy CDs rather than settling for slightly less expensive and (most importantly) lossy MP3s. Plus for me it kind of ruins part of the experience not having a physical copy to hold and look at. Plus last time I checked, you're free to do just about whatever you want with your CDs, including ripping them and putting them on an MP3 player without any problems. A lot of MP3 services are riddled with DRM (*ahem* iTunes) that prevents you from doing pretty much anything with the music you paid for.

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Just the fact that you have to go through a convoluted "syncing" process that forces you to use a special player instead of just copying a DRM-free file you legally paid for into a generic USB-pendrive like player is enough to put me off any such service. Let's not even analyze the dependence over an internet connection or whatever, compared to even home mini hi-fis that have built in USB ports and can rip music amd copy files from and to music players....

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In addition to some of the stuff on the first post, I'd ask the following if I were to consider such a service:

What percentage of profits do the artists gain from the service in comparison to the distributors or publishers?
Does the company finance some of the more obtrusive lobbies trying to apply restrictions to benefit the commercialization of copyrighted materials?

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Oh, if there's a complete album I want I'll be sure to order a CD. This MP3 business is just for random songs I like.

Maes said:

Just the fact that you have to go through a convoluted "syncing" process that forces you to use a special player instead of just copying a DRM-free file you legally paid for into a generic USB-pendrive like player is enough to put me off any such service.

There always was the option to copy-and-paste but there should be a way to automatically manage |the songs I listen to most often| or |songs I've downloaded most recently| and so on.

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Amazon has never had DRM and ITunes is moving away from it.

I've bought a couple of albums from Amazon. I've stopped, however, because of an experience with bad rips... Two songs I had downloaded had noticeable glitches (a loud POP in one and some staticy skipping in another). I contacted Amazon support and they re-authorized my download in case the file got corrupted during transport. Nope; files were the same. I then got a refund for those two songs with a promise that they would get fixed "sometime in the week." A month later I got around to buying the songs again, and they had the same %*$# problems!!

I got fed up at that point. What good is an album one of the tracks is busted on it? Since I had already paid for it, I just downloaded the first version I could find through less than legal means. Guess what - perfect.

It's not entirely clear where Amazon gets their MP3s from. I think they might rip some of them in-house, but I believe the label supplies others. In any case, I refuse to go through that Russian roulette again and have gone back to buying CDs so I can rip them properly.

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As I've found out with my sister's job as a librarian, you can get all the music and movies you want from the library for free. If they don't have it, they can get it from other libraries.

Yeah, it's not an MP3 service, but it is a pretty good way to get music.

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I'll stick to buying and ripping CD's, it's the more expensive option but having a physical copy pretty much future-proofs my purchase - so long as I have a functioning optical drive.

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caco_killer said:

As I've found out with my sister's job as a librarian, you can get all the music and movies you want from the library for free. If they don't have it, they can get it from other libraries.

Yeah, it's not an MP3 service, but it is a pretty good way to get music.

If you're ripping the music/movies, this is just as illegal as downloading them.

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Bucket said:

Oh, if there's a complete album I want I'll be sure to order a CD. This MP3 business is just for random songs I like.



Same here. If I like an album I buy the CD. Nothing beats having an original.

However, sometimes there's songs I don't want to pay the price of the CD they are on for.

These can be single tracks of albums I don't like as a whole or B-sides of maxi singles. Especially in the second case I rarely see the point in paying for these overpriced things if I can have the single song I like for much, much less.

Concerning iTunes and other DRM protected crap I stay away from it as much as possible. I did buy a few songs off iTunes because I had no alternative.

First thing I did was burn them on a CD and re-rip them to do with the unprotected copies as I liked. The funny thing is that iTunes Germany's terms and conditions clearly state that I can use a burned CD like any other CD I bought in a store - which ironically includes copying its contents to my hard drive and elsewhere. Some protection - if the legal workaround is already built into the system... :D

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I have used amazon a couple of times and didn't have any problems. But that was just to get some ZZ Top albums I had trouble finding on vinyl. But, like others I tend to buy cd's instead of mp3's.

Oh and for those of you that don't know. Don't get any of ZZ Tops pre-Eliminator albums on cd's. Back in the 80's they where remastered them with electronic drums and they added synthesizer crap. Thats why I got them on vinyl.

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Graf Zahl said:

Same here. If I like an album I buy the CD. Nothing beats having an original.

Ironically, now that I'm browsing for singles, I realize there are other songs on the same album that I also like, thus warranting another CD purchase.

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I like to buy albums instead of download them. I prefer having a physical copy and burning random songs to CD's. Otherwise, if I can't find an album in a store or online, I'll download what I like from it on Soulseek or something.

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KingKill33 said:

Otherwise, if I can't find an album in a store or online, I'll download what I like from it on Soulseek or something.



Now, unless I am mistaken, that is illegal and can cause you a lot of trouble.

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Graf Zahl said:
and can cause you a lot of trouble.

It could, but that seems very unlikely unless the person is actively providing a service, such as a website or server promoting or linking to copyrighted materials, or profiting from the piracy. If nearly half of the population seems to download illegal materials, it makes minor infringements doubtful targets for corporate entertainment groups hunting down their stray sheep.

If you mean that he's admitting to illegal activity and might be punished here on the forums, his statement is just a general comment representing what a large portion of the population of the world supports.

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myk said:

It could, but that seems very unlikely unless the person is actively providing a service, such as a website or server promoting or linking to copyrighted materials, or profiting from the piracy. If nearly half of the population seems to download illegal materials, it makes minor infringements doubtful targets for corporate entertainment groups hunting down their stray sheep.

If you mean that he's admitting to illegal activity and might be punished here on the forums, his statement is just a general comment representing what a large portion of the population of the world supports.


If he's downloading something he can't even buy online or in store, I don't think anyone will go after him for that.

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AgentSpork said:

When purchasing music I prefer to actually buy CDs rather than settling for slightly less expensive and (most importantly) lossy MP3s. Plus for me it kind of ruins part of the experience not having a physical copy to hold and look at. Plus last time I checked, you're free to do just about whatever you want with your CDs, including ripping them and putting them on an MP3 player without any problems. A lot of MP3 services are riddled with DRM (*ahem* iTunes) that prevents you from doing pretty much anything with the music you paid for.


Same. There's something special about having every song in an album, plus the physical cd and the album art. Also I prefer to own the entire album because I feel like every album tells a story, even if some songs are much better than others.

Downloading songs on their own is kinda like playing Doom 2 but only on the good levels. Or watching only the fighting scenes in a movie and skipping the rest. Even though you skip some of the less interesting parts, you still miss out on the completeness of the album.

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exp(x) said:

On a related note, do any sites offer lossless downloads?

There are some, but the number is extremely low.... and out of them, most of them are from the bands themselves (I've seen *one* pay-and-download service that covered multiple artists and offered FLAC, but I don't remember what it was)

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