Napster, RealRhapsody, And Other Subscription Services
There are a few sites that offer subscription services, such
as Napster, RealRhapsody, and Yahoo! Music.
These allow you to listen to upwards of a million music files completely
legally for a low monthly rate (usually around $15). Many famous artists and classic albums are
available through these services, though perhaps not quite as many as iTunes. These music subscription services are legal,
they pay the artists, and they can be immensely fun to browse around on.
The drawback is that you don’t actually own any of the music
you listen to or download, you’re merely renting it. If you cancel your subscription, you don’t
keep anything you haven’t directly paid for.
The interfaces of these programs aren’t quite as nice as iTunes, and
occasionally you’ll experience some problems with streaming audio files if the
software’s server is having trouble.
However, the subscription format allows you to experience a great amount
of new artists, and you can even put subscribed music onto some digital media
player (although subscription services don’t work with Apple’s iPod).
P2P Services
Peer to peer services such as Bear Share, Kazaa, and
Limewire allow you to download mp3s and other types of media to your computer
from the libraries of other users connected to the network. Likewise, anyone on the network can access
your computer and download files.
The good part of these services is that you don’t pay
anything other than perhaps a fee for the software; the downside is that you’re
stealing music. The RIAA routinely
attempts to shut down these services and sues their users, and though the
chances of getting sued are extremely remote, it is a possibility. Also, the quality of the mp3s can vary. Often you’ll hear annoying hiccups and fuzz in
the audio, and downloading entire albums can be difficult. It’s also noteworthy to mention that peer to
peer services are notorious for spreading viruses, so run a virus scan on any
file you download. While these services work
for real cheapskates, they’re starting to become less popular due to legal
restrictions and the complicatedness of their use.