Downloading Your Summer Soundtrack

Face it. You can't get through school let alone summer without some great tunes on your iPod or MP3 player. Creating a summer soundtrack for your listening pleasure is easier than ever with all the downloading options on the internet. However, it is smart to be aware of what you getting into before you start.

A simple search for "music downloads" on any search engine will result in a multitude of Web sites that offer music downloading services. There are a variety of ways to get music from the internet. The most common sites that appear on search engines are either P2P (peer-to-peer) network services or purchase per song options.

Purchasing individual song downloads is fairly easy to do. Try visiting your favorite band or musician's Web site first, as they may offer free downloads of recent releases. Online stores with music sections offer great deals for song downloads as well. Purchasing songs from a reputable service offers many benefits:

• Part of the purchase price goes to the musicians, so they can continue to make great music for you to download in the future.
• If the music file doesn't download correctly or is corrupted, there are options for technical support as well as for compensation (i.e. re-downloading at no charge or getting a refund).
• Downloads come from a central server through the company, which usually means that music files will be of higher quality
• Downloads will be secure, and your own - you won't be "sharing" files with anyone.
• Less likely to be exposed to computer viruses.

Most of your free and subscription music downloading services are run on a P2P network. This means that the songs that are available to download depend upon other people that subscribe to the service. Subscribers will also affect your downloading time. You are "sharing" files and bandwidth with other users. Sharing music files has become extremely popular since the creation of Napster; however, there are risks to be aware of.