Managing Your Digital Media Part 3: Getting Your Music

In Parts 1 & 2 of this series that no online audio junkie can be without, I talked briefly about the differences between lossy audio files and lossless audio files. Obviously knowing the difference between the two is of little value if you can't even get some music onto your computer! Alas, there is still hope. Everywhere you turn, music can be found. On the internet, you can download songs through a media player like iTunes, through a reputable online store like Amazon, from a high quality venue like MusicGiants, or you can order physical copies from any number of sources. Of course, you can also be a naughty pirate and steal music, too. What you do is your choice, but you should at least know how to do it.

*Legally Purchasing Digital Copies*

Apple iTunes - This is perhaps the most famous online venue available and is currently the number one music vendor in the US according to recent sales figures. Operated by Apple Inc., the iTunes Music Store went live April 28, 2003 and with over 4 billion sales since then, it has helped prove that selling music online is a viable possibility. Unfortunately, many people think this is their only option, when the reality is that it might not be your best. Songs come in at $0.99 per song with most full albums usually available for $9.99. Files are available in Apple's proprietary AAC codec with 128 kbit/s rate for protected .m4p files and 256 kbit/s for the limited number of unprotected .m4a files. The use of FairPlay, a form of Digital Rights Management, is a bit crippling in my opinion. However, Apple's early success has made their store a go-to outlet for labels; the end result is that a wide variety of content is available.

Amazon - The Amazon.com MP3 store first went public September 25, 2007 as a relatively late entry to the online music sales race. However, it also became the first online music store to sell music without DRM from the major labels in January of 2008. This is a huge step in the right direction and a major advantage to buying through Amazon. Songs are priced from $0.89 to $0.99, with albums available for anywhere from $5.99 to $9.99. Your music will be available in the mp3 format as a variable bitrate file with an average bitrate of ~256 kbit/s. With roughly a third the number of songs as the iTunes Music Store, it might not be your best option for diversity.

MusicGiants - Being unique online is a rarity, but I think MusicGiants can lay claim to that fame: by my recollection, they are the largest online store that sells lossless audio. In fact, they also sell what they call "Super HD" audio files which are either 5.1 or 24 bit files. With 1/6th the selection as the iTunes store, the selection is hit or miss if you're looking for something a bit atypical. However, the quality of non-DRM files makes this store worth checking out at only $1.29 per song for normal lossless files or $1.99 per song for "Super HD" lossless files. The only real problem I have with it is that the music store is only viewable in Internet Explorer, a major detriment to people like myself who prefer a better browser. On the bright side, MusicGiants has made it known that they are working on a Firefox compatible store and it should be up shortly.

Rhapsody - Rhapsody has been online for quite a while now: it was launched in December of 2001 by RealNetworks (the makers of the RealAudio and RealVideo formats, as well as the RealPlayer media player). Somehow, Rhapsody has gone relatively unacknowledged although it certainly offers some features other stores should be looking into. Tracks are available for $0.89 per track at 192 kbit/s in RAX or AAC formats as well as 256 kbit/s MP3s. Files can also be streamed as 128kbit/s WMA. The catalogue at Rhapsody is fairly large (falling in between Amazon and iTunes in terms of diversity) but unfortunately, it does use a form of DRM. However, it might still be worth considering if one of the packages suits you. These include 1) Rhapsody 25, a free, ad-supported version that lets you stream 25 songs on-demand per month, 2) Rhapsody Unlimited, a paid subscription at $12.99 that lets you stream unlimited selections of music, 3) Rhapsody To Go, a paid subscription for $14.99 per month that lets you download songs directly to your computer. The files can be transferred to any PlaysForSure compatible device, but is still a bit crippled by DRM.

Of course, covering every single store online that sells music would be very time consuming and a little redundant. These four are the "must-see" companies in my opinion. Maybe you don't want to pay for all of your music, though....

*Illegally Acquiring Digital Copies*

I don't want to get too in-depth on this topic as a lot of information is readily available with a quick google search. However, I will point you in the right direction.

Standard Peer-to-Peer Programs - Many moons ago, Napster changed the landscape of the music industry by allowing users to connect to one another through a clever interface. The selection of music that could be downloaded in seconds was amazing. It didn't take too long for the music industry to pounce, though, and Napster was shut down. In it's wake, the "Hydra" began to take shape. Many P2P programs have been released since then, including Kazaa, Ares, and Limewire. These are usually considered the big players in the P2P world nowadays, but they are almost universally garbage in my opinion. Search results are typically filled with mislabeled, poor quality files. This is also how most people end up in court, sued for thousands of dollars. Steer
clear, in my opinion.

BitTorrent - The BitTorrent protocol is growing extremely popular in the online community for everything from movies, to music, to programs, and anything you can imagine. Technically speaking, it is another form of P2P file sharing, but for whatever reason, it has been more successful at keeping the long arm of the law at a distance while maintaining relatively good quality files depending on your source. In general, sites through which you download torrents can be broken down into two categories: 1) Public, and 2) Private. Public trackers include the infamous The Pirate Bay or MiniNova. Anyone can go to these sites, search for an album, and download that album provided they have a BitTorrent client installed. Private torrent sites, on the other hand, tend to be invite only; you have to know somebody to get you in and you have to be a good sharer or risk being banned forever. Private sites typically have unbelievable selection and equally impressive quality, with a wide range of lossless albums available. Recently, a variety of law enforcement agencies have focused on shutting down these sites with relatively little impact on the users, as seen in the shutdown of the popular site known as Oink's Pink Palace. However, the shutdown of OiNK resulted in the evolution of several new sites, including the popular What.cd and Waffles.fm. Mind you, you'll never see the insides of these guys unless you've got the right connections. If you can get in... bliss is imminent.

IRC (Internet Relay Chat) - IRC is one of the oldest forms of illegal file sharing. Perhaps the most popular method of getting involved in IRC is use of the client known as mIRC. Once installed, you need to connect to a server and join a channel in which music is being shared. The obvious problem here is that you need to know where to go to find the music you're looking for. That is where a site like PacketNews comes in. A simple search will tell you what server and what channel to connect to to find a given album. However, you also need to know the appropriate commands to download what you're looking for. Even worse, there is a tendency for these channels to move all over the place, making it tough to find a reliable source for your music.

The obvious advantage to these sites is that corporate restrictions are removed and the content is usually from users for users. As an ex-OiNK and current Waffles and What member, I can tell you that although I still buy more vinyl than I should, there is nothing out there that can touch what either of these three sites are doing right now. The sooner record labels understand that, the sooner they can become profitable again. It is good to know, though, that some like Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails has realized this and has made buying music almost logical again.

*Ripping Your Own Music*

If you're viewing this site, you've probably got a computer. That computer probably has a CD-ROM. You've probably got a bunch of CD's laying around, too, but getting that music onto your computer isn't always an obvious process. Though there are a lot of different programs that offer easy ripping of CD's, there is really only one worth using in my opinion: Exact Audio Copy. Although not the most intuitive, there is an excellent guide available that will ensure excellent rips everytime.

When it comes to ripping and downloading music, there is a pretty widespread misunderstanding of what constitutes "better." First, any mp3 that has a constant bit rate is a waste of space. Music is not constant and thus assigning the same number of bits to empty sound as heavily layered music is obviously illogical. Personally, I prefer the use of the v2 or v0 setting for mp3 ripping and FLAC for lossless. See our previous articles if you want to know more, but I will close with a graph that should make it pretty obvious why I prefer what I do for MP3's.


- Image: wiki.hydrogenaudio.org