I'm basically getting fed up with spending $15 to $20 on a CD and winding up with one or two songs on the entire thing I like. I guess it's time to get with the 90's and start downloading and making my own CD's.

I know you used to be able to "share" for free, but not anymore. That's fine, I don't mind paying, but it would sure be nice to pay for only the songs I want, instead of a few hits surrounded by nonsense.

Any good reputable sites to visit?

How about programs (software or downloads) that aren't overly complicated?

Thanks for the assist!

www.limewire.com is pretty good. I use it and like it.

quote:

Originally posted by packerboi:
www.limewire.com is pretty good. I use it and like it.

Limewire is a P2P (peer to peer), correct? My understanding is you really need to be careful on how you set access to files/users. If you are not, I believe that many files may be accessible on your computer that you do not intend to allow others to see. Geeks?

There's a setting on Limewire for whether or not you share your files. It only affects one folder however, not the entire computer. It's turned ON by default. First thing to do is turn that OFF, unless you truly plan to make your music folder available to others.

If everyone turned that off, would there be anything to share/download?

quote:

Originally posted by scoop:
There's a setting on Limewire for whether or not you share your files. It only affects one folder however, not the entire computer. It's turned ON by default. First thing to do is turn that OFF, unless you truly plan to make your music folder available to others.

People who don't share are referred to as Freeloaders (their word, not mine).

There's another setting in there as well, about whether or not to allow freeloaders to download from you. That one's OFF (no freeloaders) by default also, I believe.

I have a folder called "Shared" that I keep 8 or 9 songs in. These are what other people on the network can see. My download folder is called something else, and I don't share that one.

True. My recommendation was/is itunes, especially as RWS said "I don't mind paying".

quote:

Originally posted by Since69:

People who don't share are referred to as Freeloaders (their word, not mine).

So the freeloaders are calling others freeloaders???

I too prefer ITunes, 99 cents a song and you buy what you want.

eMusic is another good one. You pay a monthly fee ($10, $15, OR $20) and then get so many dowloads a month. It carries more of the lesser-known and indie artists than iTunes, but it has all genres with some popular artists. Even a really good comedy section on there. The cool thing is as long as you are a new subscriber and have a credit card that hasn't been used on there yet, you get a free trial of like 25 downloads to test it out. They work on iTunes as well once you import them. I've tried it and plan on signing up for a subscription (just not the funds yet for me right now), but I really liked the selection there.

www.emusic.com

Newsgroups... everything is there if you care enough to look for it. No sharing, no slow connections.

Plus the quality of music uploaded to newsgroups tends to be better.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmypop:
Newsgroups... everything is there if you care enough to look for it. No sharing, no slow connections.

OK, could you explain the newsgroups thing to me?

I know, I'm a bit behind the curve when it comes to this kind of thing.

Newsgroups are basically a large network of storage systems that are mirrored many times over, all around the world. Initially created to be similar to bulletin boards on the internet before the web, they also are able to store binary files.

Frequently, ISPs will give you some sort of access to newsgroups, and their own mirror of them. More often than not though, ISPs have terrible retention (the number of days files remain on their servers) so people choose to pay for a better service. There are a large number of news services to choose from, but I happen to use UsenetServer.com. They allow for unlimited downloads, and cost about 40 bucks every 3 months.

The best thing about newsgroups though is speed. You are only limited by your connection speed. I frequently max out my 6Mb down.

Changing course just a bit here. Do you think that by enduring lesser songs on a full CD, you might appreciate the better songs more?

I ask because, my band is on the eve of releasing a 5 song e.p. to be followed in a few months with a full CD release. I'm thinking, with technology driving us back to the days of what is the modern equivalent of buying 45 rpm singles, that this may be the last actual CD I ever make. The next one batch of recordings will probably have to be released song by song for individual download purchase.

Thanks for the response, jimmypop.

I appreciate the info.

quote:

Originally posted by Blueshound:
Changing course just a bit here. Do you think that by enduring lesser songs on a full CD, you might appreciate the better songs more?

Absolutely not. For the same reason that buying a multipack of dvds always includes one that no one would ever pay for. There is also speculation that DirecTV/cable could be forced to allow people to only pay for the channels they want. Think about that for a second... all those channels that only exist because of bundled subscriptions disappear. I mean really, who's going to pay for the E! network?

I think for a lot of reasons we are becoming an "a la carte" society.

Interesting Jimmyp. There are benefits for the consumer with that approach, but there might be some negatives too. I don't have particularly strong feelings one way or the other. But one downside is I don't think artists have a chance anymore at becoming legendary beacuse of the fast turn over of disposable one hit wonders. I've opined for a long time, that U2 might be the last rock band to achieve legendary status in the modern MTV era. For example, Metallica has sold huge, but do you really think that 30 years down the road, we will still be hearing them on future "classic rock" mediums, (be it broadcast radio, satellite radio or whatever type of medium the future will bring).


The upside of on demand music purchasing is a music fan can fill their collection with just what they want, which saves them money too. I do think the art of music suffers though.

Limewire comes with Malware and other security risks. Soulseek is the best P2P file-sharing program for music.

quote:

Originally posted by Blueshound:
Interesting Jimmyp. There are benefits for the consumer with that approach, but there might be some negatives too. I don't have particularly strong feelings one way or the other. But one downside is I don't think artists have a chance anymore at becoming legendary beacuse of the fast turn over of disposable one hit wonders. I've opined for a long time, that U2 might be the last rock band to achieve legendary status in the modern MTV era. For example, Metallica has sold huge, but do you really think that 30 years down the road, we will still be hearing them on future "classic rock" mediums, (be it broadcast radio, satellite radio or whatever type of medium the future will bring).


The upside of on demand music purchasing is a music fan can fill their collection with just what they want, which saves them money too. I do think the art of music suffers though.

I cant really speak to the art aspect, so I'll leave that to those who know better. As far as radio goes.... radio is kind of a bizarre medium. To some extent it will always have to be a compromise of mostly popular songs, even within a genre. You cant expect to hear certain songs on the radio, and there are viable alternatives for that.... whether it's an iPod, cd, or whatever. Some of my favorite songs though are not songs that were ever released as singles, and were only gems that I happened to find while listening to the entire album (The art of shredding, for example).

I guess that's where I differ a lil bit. I tend to download entire albums and then discard the music I dont like after taking a listen at least once.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmypop:

quote:

Originally posted by Blueshound:
Interesting Jimmyp. There are benefits for the consumer with that approach, but there might be some negatives too. I don't have particularly strong feelings one way or the other. But one downside is I don't think artists have a chance anymore at becoming legendary beacuse of the fast turn over of disposable one hit wonders. I've opined for a long time, that U2 might be the last rock band to achieve legendary status in the modern MTV era. For example, Metallica has sold huge, but do you really think that 30 years down the road, we will still be hearing them on future "classic rock" mediums, (be it broadcast radio, satellite radio or whatever type of medium the future will bring).


The upside of on demand music purchasing is a music fan can fill their collection with just what they want, which saves them money too. I do think the art of music suffers though.

I cant really speak to the art aspect, so I'll leave that to those who know better. As far as radio goes.... radio is kind of a bizarre medium. To some extent it will always have to be a compromise of mostly popular songs, even within a genre. You cant expect to hear certain songs on the radio, and there are viable alternatives for that.... whether it's an iPod, cd, or whatever. Some of my favorite songs though are not songs that were ever released as singles, and were only gems that I happened to find while listening to the entire album (The art of shredding, for example).

I guess that's where I differ a lil bit. I tend to download entire albums and then discard the music I dont like after taking a listen at least once.

I love buying CD's, especially by artists that truly embrace what an LP really should be: a complete work. I never really bought into the idea that LP's were just collections of singles, even thought that's sort of how they developed. I appreciate bands like TOOL and Nine Inch Nails, and Pink Floyd who really try to put together a complete work, whether there is a concept to it all or not. And then when you factor in the artwork, you really get a complete package.

That being said, I do like the ability to dowload single songs. I don't mind paying for a song at a time, since at least the artist is getting something out of it, but I have bought too many albums where I like 3 songs out of the 10 or 12. I also concede that CD's do take up a lot of room (when my collection is around 1,000 CD's it is a pain to move them!), and now having an iPod, I can fit my entire collection on there and no longer have to carry around my CD's and risk them being damaged or lost.

I think some artitsts are beginning to embrace the digital age even more. Trent Reznor of NIN had essentially NOTHING inside of his CD jacket for With Teeth. He provided an internet link where you could access the photos, info and lyrics. He essentially said that it was pointless to bother working so hard on the artwork and package when people were probably just going to download it anywas (legal or otherwise).

If I ever play in a group again and have the chance to record, I seriously would consider just selling downloads and letting people access any art/phots/etc. It sure beats paying for CD distribution and packaging.

I enjoy the complete collective CD as well, just because that's what I grew up with. Just wondering however, if that is about to phase out slowly but surely. What you said about Reznor leads me to believe it will.

quote:

Originally posted by Blueshound:
I enjoy the complete collective CD as well, just because that's what I grew up with. Just wondering however, if that is about to phase out slowly but surely. What you said about Reznor leads me to believe it will.

I think it will too. I just was thinking about some of the newer CD's of today. I admit it, I love Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway CD! But there is virtually nothing exciting about the packaging. Lyrics, some photos, info...but it's pretty ordinary. Same with Slayer's Christ Illusion. The cover art is sort of controversial, but really there wasn't a whole lot to it. Then you have something like TOOL's 10,000 Days with the pair of glasses that mad the photos look like 3-D (sort of like a View Master)! That's packaging...of course, they have the money and control to do it.

I do listen to more and more indie bands and labels...some of them are putting out really good packages for their CD's. They are cardboard-like, with some nice booklets, and some even have actual sleeves that the CD fits in! Really reminds me of vinyl albums! I really enjoy buying those, and will keep buyuing CD's of my absolute favorite groups. But just for space alone, I do like the convenience of downloads.

This reminds me of one of my birthday presents...a DVD called "HYPE", which was a documentary of the Seattle grunge explosion--I'm guessing you've seen it. But in one part, they were explaining how all one needed to make a record was some analogue tape and a microphone. Ah, the SUB-POP records! I'm old!

quote:

Originally posted by MsPacman:

quote:

Originally posted by jimmypop:
Newsgroups... everything is there if you care enough to look for it. No sharing, no slow connections.

OK, could you explain the newsgroups thing to me?

I know, I'm a bit behind the curve when it comes to this kind of thing.

http://www.easynews.com/ Easynews- Usenet made easy.

I've been a member for years, Recommend it highly.