Thursday, September 4, 2008

iPod Music Downloads

Many websites are giving away free iPod music downloads. So how true is it? Well, there are copies of songs you can technically download but I have to warn you first that the legality of most of these sites is highly questionable. If you have been visiting forums or reading news updates, there have been numerous reports of infringement of copyright laws when downloading from these illegal iPod music download sites.

Free sounds good but it is often tagged with a hefty price when you are caught doing so. Moreover, the song quality is often poor. Folks may argue that downloading at iTune is not cheap, with songs going for $0.99 per piece. Gone were the days when people would not even frown at paying for a 10-songs CD at $15 – 20.
It is pretty much a Catch-22 situation as iPod manufacturers keep packing in more memory and boosting the capacity of newer iPod models. They can hold more songs than the older generation ones, hundreds to thousands of them. iPod users, driven by their hungry urge to quickly build up a collection of songs, often then fall prey to these illegal music download sites.
Fortunately, there are now paid membership sites for legal iPod music downloads other than iTune. So iPod fanatics can still enjoy their music without limits – access to huge libraries of songs, both latest and oldies without compromising on the quality of the music and of course, not burning their pockets. This is indeed good news for us as we can have the best of both worlds.

Here is some handy information to help you do your homework when you look for an iPod music downloads site:

1. iPod Music Download Fees
This is the main reason why people are flocking to these membership sites. Most of these sites are charging for lifetime or yearly membership subscription for the cost of one nice dinner out. For that, you can have unlimited access to as many iPod music and music video downloads. There are no per download fees at all. But please do not quickly jump onto any site you come across, and be sure to look around for the best value for money.

2. Range of iPod Music Downloads
Whether you are a Pop music fan, or simply love soothing jazz music, there is a paid membership download site out there that can meet your needs. Read up on each site and find out the range and type of music they carry.

3. Wide Selection of Music Files
By this, I meant that the selection of music files must be huge enough, and they need to provide almost every song that has ever been composed. Find out if they constantly update their media library. You will be surprised that some of them even have the latest hits, and not some outdated, past hits only.

4. Easy-to-Navigate Membership Area
Is the membership area easy to navigate around? Is it easy to find the song you want? Do they provide step by step instructions on how to download the iPod music files to your iPod?

5. Downloading Speeds of iPod Music Files
Does it take forever to download a long list of songs?

6. Free Media Downloading Software Provided
Most sites provide free media downloading software so it can be considered as an industry norm. If they charge you for the software, it is time to look elsewhere. One thing you need to find out is whether their software is compatible with your system, ie what are the software system requirements?

7. Customers’ Feedback
Good customer feedback often means that the service level is excellent and should be able to meet your expectations.

8. Excellent Technical Assistance
Needless to say, you do not wish to face a situation where you are stuck and cannot find the technical support you need. Not every site is equal in this aspect even though almost everyone boasts of top-notch support service.

iPod music downloads are available to music lovers either for free or at a cost. It can be perplexing to users as to why some sites could offer music downloads for free while some charges a fee. Let’s dwell a little deeper into the world of online iPod music and find out whether it is better to download free music or pay for your iPod music downloads.
When talking about free iPod music downloads, we are referring to downloading music files directly from sources such as Kazaa or LimeWire. These sites are essentially file sharing networks or what we term as peer-to-peer (P2P) networks where the music files are shared.
Now, there are some concerns associated with downloading free music from these networks. One potential problem could be the legality of the iPod music downloads. There could be instances where copyrighted music is uploaded and shared. This is in direct violation of copyright laws. Users could be toeing the line when downloading these copyrighted music files. While this may be true, there are millions of files that are uploaded by amateur musicians and singers who use these sites as a platform to share their music and songs and to launch their careers. These files are completely legal to download. In fact, talent scouting folks do scour these sites in search of the next Big Thing.
There are a host of other shortcomings you may have to deal with if you are considering if you should get some iPod music downloads from these specific sites. The security and protection from attacks of adware, spyware and viruses, or rather the lack of it when downloading the iPod music files is a cause for concern. The downloading speeds could be incredibly slow and the audio quality of the songs and music can be exceptionally poor. Some users have also complained that the songs are incomplete. You wouldn’t want to trade your precious time to download such iPod music that isn’t worth listening to. So it seems that there is some truth in the saying, “There aren’t any Free Lunch in this world.”

Check out the links to great sites ive provided

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