Many people worry about the legality of downloading music, there has been a lot of publicity over the last few years as major record labels crack down on unscrupulous file sharing operations. To clarify, it is not illegal if:

• The copyright holder of the song title has permission for the song to be downloaded. Usually, this is via a reputable music download site and a fee was charged.
• It is legal to encode an MP3 player with a legally downloaded song, however it is not legal to trade or distribute that download with out the consent of the copyright holder.

Most reputable music download sites charge a fee, paying for the download protects you from unwittingly breaking copyright laws. Sites will either charge you per download or a flat monthly fee for unlimited downloads.

There’s a certain ethical argument about downloading music from the Internet for free. There are a number of file sharing operations that have been closed down recently, this is because they are providing copyrighted material and not paying a royalty. If a royalty is not paid, then it means that the record company do not receive anything. It also means that the creative spark, the artist also misses out.

We believe that a creative artist should be rewarded for their work and effort, by downloading music from an illegal file sharing site, you are effectively stealing from the record company and more importantly from the artist. Besides, downloading music is now extremely low price, it’s possible to download the latest chart entries to an MP3 player for as little as 69 cents.

What is important when downloading music?

There are a number of aspects to consider when you’re downloading music. We’ve listed these below:

The legality of the site you are visiting
The quality of the MP3 download. MP3 should be CD quality, these means you should be downloading music above 128 kbps.
Consider the speed of your PC, clearly broadband will be much better if you are going to be regularly downloading music files. It’s also recommended to close any other open applications to ensure your PC is operating at its best.
Consider purchasing additional storage space specifically for your music downloads. This is especially recommended if you use your PC for work or other important jobs.
Never share the music or music file you have downloaded with others.

We hope you enjoy visiting our site, we hope to provide you with regular updates to the music download scene. Please feel free to browse our latest articles section, we’ve researched the Internet and found the latest views from the greatest MP3 minds.

1. Jamendo based in Luxembourg but is a multilingual site accessible to users around the world. The music available is free to download and licensed through Creative Commons and Free Art licenses. Over 32,000 albums are available to download. http://www.jamendo.com/en/