Music downloading: where do I begin? How can I find all of the songs I’d like to download? Where are the best places to look? What more do I need to know to make the process a piece of cake? This article will tell you all you need to know.
Heed caution about where you download from online. Stick to well-known, reputable sites to avoid some that may collect your information or contain viruses. Don’t forget that it is potentially unsafe to share your private information with little-known sites.
Make sure to exercise caution when downloading for free. Hackers who want to spread viruses often do so by offering up free music that they know people want to hear. If one is attached to a download, you may not realize this until it’s far too late.
Make sure you backup your songs. You’ll invest a lot of time in downloading songs. You can lose all of these files if something were to happen. Never depend on others to allow you to download songs again. Online storage or external hard drives can be used to back up music.
If you are a user of Apple products, you’ll want to check out iTunes for your music downloads. iTunes downloads will give you a seamless music experience across your Mac, your iPhone and your iPad. You won’t have to worry about conversions or where to download the music again as it’ll all be right in the ecosystem you are used to.
You can obtain free and cheap music downloads from some band websites. Some popular bands like to give away rare tracks, live tracks, and rough cuts that you won’t find on their albums. These are usually free or really cheap on their own websites. This is a great way to not only get music from a band you like, but to get access to cool extras that you won’t find at large online music retailers.
Check the file size on any MP3 you are downloading. Finding yourself with a download you don’t want is not hard to do. It can also be damaging to your computer. Check to see that the file size looks right. If it appears too small or large, you should delete it without opening it.
If you purchase your music through iTunes, pay the extra cash for iTunes Match ($25 per year). This music service gives you access to your entire library on the web – not just the songs you’ve recently purchased. iTunes Match looks at all of your songs and matches them with a cloud version. It’s an excellent way to increase your cloud-based music library.
Free Music Archive and The Internet Archive offer free music that is completely legal to download. Check them out if you are working on building your collection. They often contain music from obscure or lesser known artists, and the music spans every genre. Downloading is simple once you are at the site.
With so much information in mind, you should be ready to go and download music now. Just put each tip to use, one by one, and you’ll find the process is truly a snap. That means that you can easily listen to great tunes on your latest device just by using your new knowledge.