The Drm Controversy and How it Affects your Legal Mp3 Music Downloads

July 28th, 2009 at 06:41am Under music copyright

Getting legal mp3 music downloads from legal music download sites is a great way to get high quality music files that are completely free of the piracy issues that you have with music downloads from file sharing programs. But legal music download sites are not free of controversy. Most of the popular online services provide music lovers with song tracks that have DRM attached to them. Depending on the particular DRM scheme, there will be limits to what you can do with the music you’ve purchased. This article will help you gain a better understanding of the DRM controversy and how it affects your legal mp3 music downloads.What Is DRM?
DRM is the acronym for digital rights management or digital restrictions management. Digital rights management is a system that provides music lovers like you and I to get legal downloads of copyrighted music while ensuring that the owners of those rights control the digital distribution of that work over the internet. DRM also acts as an internet toll booth; it makes sure that the artists and record labels owning those rights get paid for giving access to their music. It sounds pretty reasonable – after all, no one has a problem with Maroon 5 or Universal Music getting paid for giving us access to their music. But consumers do have a problem with the limits digital restrictions management places on them.Why Digital Rights Management Is So Controversial
In actual practice digital rights management has proven to be very controversial. While it protects the financial interests of the copyright owner, it has restricted the rights of music loving public that pays for legal music downloads. Limits can be placed on the number of devices the music can be played on, the number of times you can burn a CD or the number of times you can actually play a download. But the big rub is the lack of ownership rights to the music you’ve paid for. You simply don’t enjoy the same rights to legal mp3 music downloads that you do with a CD you buy from Wal-Mart. However, the tide is starting to turn because online music services like Apple iTunes and Wal-Mart Music Downloads have launched DRM-free music download services. Until DRM-free music becomes more widespread, there are some things you need to be aware of when you download music from legal music sites.What You Really Need To Know
Before you whip out your credit card to join any legal music download service, you need to know whether or not there’s any DRM attached to the music files in their catalog. Not all legal music sites have rights restrictions. Services with music files in MP3 format are free of digital restrictions, but those in AAC or WMA format have some restrictions. The basic scheme allows you to play your streaming music downloads as long as you pay for your music subscription. Music purchased per download can be played after you end your subscription, but as I mentioned earlier in this article, there will be limits to the number of hardware devices the tracks can be played on or how many times you can burn that track on a CD. Ultimately your own preferences will determine how much of an impact these restrictions will have on your legal mp3 music downloads.

Ray Harris is a music loving iPod enthusiast. If you want more info on downloading legal mp3 music, be sure to check out my get the real skinny on legal mp3 music download sites guide or discover how you can get FREE trial subscriptions to popular legal mp3 music services from my download legal mp3 music blog.
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What you Really Need to Know About Picking the Best Mp3 Music Download Site

July 17th, 2009 at 12:47am Under music copyright

Now that you’ve purchased that hot new mp3 player, have you thought about what type of mp3 music download site you will use to get your music from? Your options boil down to basically two (2) choices. Legal music download sites or mp3 file sharing programs that facilitate unlimited downloads of music files. But which one is the best option for you? To help you answer that question, this article will explore the pros and cons of getting your favorite music from legal mp3 music sites versus p2p file sharing programs.Music Downloads From Legal MP3 Music Download Sites
Legal mp3 music download sites are an excellent way for you to get the music you want. These online music stores offer CD quality music files that are free of any adware, spyware or viruses. The music has been legally licensed from the record labels that own the copyrights to the songs and albums, so you don’t have to worry about any copyright infringement issues when you download the music. Popular digital music services like Rhapsody and Yahoo! Music Unlimited provide members with monthly membership subscriptions that give you a choice between downloading music to your PC or to your mp3 player. Also, some legal mp3 music download sites such as iTunes Store and Wal-Mart Music Downloads now offer music tracks that are free of any digital rights restrictions.
But as cool as it is to get very high quality, spyware free, DRM free songs or albums that you can play on your PC or your mp3 player, legal music download sites do have a few drawbacks. The biggest drawback is DRM (digital rights management or digital rights restrictions). DRM can limit what you can do with your mp3 music downloads and basically makes you a renter of the music even though you’ve bought it. But as I mentioned previously, online music stores and major recording labels are banding together to bring you music that’s free of digital rights restrictions. Outside of DRM, the biggest drawback is the cost if you pay for your music on a per download basis. However, music download sites like Rhapsody and Yahoo! Music Unlimited offer discounts on purchased music tracks to their membership subscribers. Wal-Mart Music Downloads is also very competitive price wise when compared to iTunes.MP3 Music Downloads From P2P File Sharing Programs
Thanks to today’s technology, p2p file sharing programs all you to download, upload and share mp3 music files online. Also known as p2p (peer–to-peer), these freeware programs enable you to download music from the shared file folders of other users within the p2p network for free. Getting lighting fast, unlimited downloads of mp3 music can provide you with a naughty thrill (you can get all the music you want for free). But as thrilling as that might be, getting your favorite tunes this way can be a risky proposition.
As you read in the previous paragraph, many p2p file sharing programs are available as freeware downloads. As freeware or shareware, they often come bundled with hidden spyware or adware programs. Additional spyware risks come from the shared files of other users in the p2p network. But with the help of a good spyware remover tool, you can pretty much eliminate this spyware threat. The biggest risk in downloading mp3 music from file sharing programs comes from the exposure to getting sued for copyright infringement. The RIAA aggressively pursues lawsuits against people who use file sharing to download copyrighted music from RIAA members. The recent TorrentSpy ruling doesn’t make things any easier for you to stay under the RIAA’s radar. However, it is possible for you to anonymously download mp3 music from file sharing programs using IP cloaking software or anonymous surfing service.
By now it should be clear that both legal mp3 music download sites and p2p file sharing programs present online music lovers with opportunities and challenges. Which one is right for you? With legal music sites, you have to ask yourself if DRM and the costs are that big of a deal for you to get legitimate, near CD quality music. With p2p file sharing programs, you have to ask yourself if getting unlimited free music is worth the spyware and legal risks. Ultimately the choice of which mp3 music download site boils down to you and the option you feel most comfortable with.

Ray Harris is a music loving iPod enthusiast. Still not sure which mp3 music download site is right for you? You can get the real low down on the best file sharing programs for mp3 downloadable music by visiting my unlimited mp3 music download guide, or you can check out the top legal mp3 music sites from my legal mp3 music download sites guide.
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