Best place to buy mp3's online?

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Shaman

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 17, 2006
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Sorry if this isn't the right sub-forum to ask this, but I couldn't find the place for this. :confused:

What is the best site to buy mp3's and download them from that has a large and diversified offer of artists and music genres (other than iTunes of course)?

I want them in plain mp3 format, preferably at or above 192kbps. I would also like a place where I can login and download all the stuff I've bought in the past, just in case something terrible happens and I lose some of the mp3's.

I've read mentions of allofmp3.com more than once, is this THE place to signup for?

Thanks. :cool:
 
I don't buy music online, so I don't really know any of the services (save for iTunes, of course), but I just want to get my foot in on the allofmp3.com thing.

In most nations, operating allofmp3.com would be completely illegal. The RIAA has filed a multi-trillion dollar suit against the Russian-based company, but of course there is no "jurisdiction" for that (nor is there a precedence). The major credit card companies also prohibit purchases from allofmp3.

Buying from allofmp3.com is no different than downloading from Usenet, from torrents or whatever. The only difference is that with allofmp3, you're paying a large organization of disgusting Russian pirates. From a moral perspective, it's better just to download the stuff illegally without paying anything.
 
phide said:
I don't buy music online, so I don't really know any of the services (save for iTunes, of course), but I just want to get my foot in on the allofmp3.com thing.

In most nations, operating allofmp3.com would be completely illegal. The RIAA has filed a multi-trillion dollar suit against the Russian-based company, but of course there is no "jurisdiction" for that (nor is there a precedence). The major credit card companies also prohibit purchases from allofmp3.

Buying from allofmp3.com is no different than downloading from Usenet, from torrents or whatever. The only difference is that with allofmp3, you're paying a large organization of disgusting Russian pirates. From a moral perspective, it's better just to download the stuff illegally without paying anything.
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Interesting, I didn't know russians were behind allofmp3.com. I did come across a couple of russian sites that sell mp3s for 5 cents each, certainly something to stay away from.

I hope there's some legal site that sells songs in a format other than the apple one. If I buy something I should be able to use whatever software player I want.
 
I'm not going to debate the legality of allofmp3.com, but they have tried to pay the RIAA, the RIAA however will not cash the checks.

Allofmp3.com regularly sends a check to ROMS for the rights to the songs they deliver. ROMS regularly sends RIAA a check for the same amout. RIAA has yet to cash any of their checks. If any artists has not gotten their royalty from Allofmp3.com it is RIAA’s fault, not Allofmp3.com’s.
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ROMS is the equivalent of the RIAA/MPAA in Russia.
 
I don't think a lot of people in this forum buy mp3s.. mostly because its kinda like dumping your cash down the toilet. CDs are way better, encode your own files and set your own bitrates with unlimted backups. Personally I'd only buy lossless even then CDs offer other stuff I find important (lyrics, cover art)
 
StaticSurge said:
CDs are way better, encode your own files and set your own bitrates with unlimted backups.
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I do that already, I rip my CD's with EAC and encode them with the lame --alt-preset extreme setting. It's just that there's some songs that I want that I can't find on the 'public' sources, and I don't want to get the entire CD just because of that one song either.

I bought a couple of songs off of iTunes once and I ended up only listening to them once of twice because of that restrictive mp4 format or whatever the crap it is. The compression of those songs weren't that great either, I could hear artifacts all over the place. :mad:
 
i use emusic because i enjoy supporting independent artists and labels. no drm, just straight mp3 vbr encoding.

they also have some titles that are not available on cd or lp without paying a shit ton for them. i.e. rare pressings and eps and stuff.
 
StaticSurge said:
I don't think a lot of people in this forum buy mp3s.. mostly because its kinda like dumping your cash down the toilet. CDs are way better, encode your own files and set your own bitrates with unlimted backups. Personally I'd only buy lossless even then CDs offer other stuff I find important (lyrics, cover art)
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I was formulating a similiar sentence when I came across yours, well put.

Besides, who knows what will happen to mp3's in 10 years.

However, almost all of my mp3 collection has cover art that is displayed in Windows Media Center when I play it.
 
By the same token, who knows what will happen to WAVs, CDs, or vinyl?

If you want to use the most future-secure format, you'd probably use 1/4" or 1/2" tape with a Studer, serviced every fifty hours, and you'd layback your library to new reels every twenty years or so.

MP3 will be around for a while. If you want to be somewhat more sure, you can almost always just buy the CD.
 
phide said:
The only difference is that with allofmp3, you're paying a large organization of disgusting Russian pirates. From a moral perspective, it's better just to download the stuff illegally without paying anything.
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As opposed to the disgusting American lawyers who work for the greedy corporations? It's an obvious fact that 1) the price they charge for mp3's is too high, and 2) artists get the smallest slice.

Shaman said:
It's just that there's some songs that I want that I can't find on the 'public' sources,
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IMHO, a absolutely perfect and justifiable reason to "illegally" download.

Anyway, check this chart out for ideas about service comparisons.
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1784355,00.asp
Its a little old but could be useful.
 
I'm not pro-greedy-lawyer by any means, but these lawyers work are knowingly hired by record companies and other parties involved with music distribution, and a portion of profits are given directly to these lawyers. I don't agree with many of the tactics, but they're becoming more necessary as piracy becomes more widespread because distributors and record companies are locking themselves into a model that doesn't work in the first place.

allofmp3, on the other hand, has no hand in the production of music, and artists, and everyone else involved in the production of records, get nothing (as I understand it). The artist's slice is zero, while with iTunes or other legal distribution methods, their slice may be slim. The slice is also zero when you download illegally.

I guess you have to decide what you feel is better. Pay artists, record companies and so-called "greedy lawyers", or pay a Russian organization that has zero affiliation with artists. I simply don't see any merit in the "greedy lawyer" argument.

And, yes, if you're having such a hard time finding a particular song or record in retail or legally online, I don't see illegally downloading it to be a particularly immoral solution.
 
upriverpaddler said:
IMHO, a absolutely perfect and justifiable reason to "illegally" download.
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Actually by 'public' source, I meant the 'illegal' file sharing services.

The songs I want are available online, either through iTunes - that I don't want to use - or through those dubious russian site that I'm not sure if I want to use.

I'll check that comparison you posted ,thanks for the link.
 
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