Guide to downloading music online

From the latest chart-toppers to the golden oldies, listen to your favourites with our complete guide to downloading music on the Internet.

While you can still choose to spend a Saturday afternoon flicking through endless racks of dusty vinyl or perusing the latest and greatest CDs to storm the high street’s shelves, downloading music straight to your computer and portable music player, is an altogether easier option. If you’re not sure where to start or where to get the best deals on the latest tracks, whilst ensuring you’re using a reputable company, simply follow SoGlos.com’s complete guide to downloading music on the Internet.

So what's it all about?
Rather than getting the latest Robbie Williams or, ahem, Jason Donovan album on CD from the local music store, you can access the complete album or single tracks on the Internet, and save them to your computer to play back later or add to your portable music player.

Will it get me arrested?
While illegal downloading is rife on the Internet, all of the websites that we have recommended offer a 100 percent legal downloading service. Yes, you have to pay to download singles and albums, but it saves you a potential spell in a police cell.

Hmm, do many people download music?
Music downloads have become so popular in recent years that an official UK download chart was formed in September of 2004 – with Westlife’s ‘Flying Without Wings’ being the first ever track to scoop the number one position. A whole host of artists have since used the Internet to launch themselves into super stardom – the Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen being classic examples.

Where should I go to download music?
There are a number of tried and tested companies around who offer all of the latest tracks, at competitive prices too. Our favourites are Napster, HMV Digital, Yahoo! Music, CD WOW!, iTunes and eMusic. What’s more if you download tracks from any of these services, you’ll be helping your chosen artist to hike their way up the official UK download chart.

Who offers the biggest selection?
Most of the services we’ve suggested offer very similar libraries, with all the big name artists and often well in excess of one million songs on offer. You’ll be hard pushed to find a song which isn’t available somewhere on the world wide web.

Which service is cheapest?
Expect to pay an average of 75p for a single track and around £8 for an album whoever you choose to download from. Have a good scout about for free trials – this will give you chance to put the service to the test and get a few free tracks at the same time. Also, make sure you keep an eye out for special offers – this is a great way to boost your collection at bargain basement prices.

Right, I'm convinced, how do I get started?
Once you’ve decided which service suits you best, you will need to register with a credit card. If you don’t have one, Napster is one company that offers a pre-pay service – with cards available from Dixons in Cheltenham, Gloucester or Stroud. After registering, you will usually need to install software provided by the service, but full instructions are provided in each case. Once you’ve done this, some services allow you to purchase tracks and albums as-and-when you want them, while others charge a set monthly fee meaning you can download an unlimited amount.

Okay, I've downloaded some tracks onto my computer, now what?
Every service offers instructions on how to download tracks and then play them on your computer. You will need a piece of software such as iTunes, Windows Media Player or Winamp – which are all available for free on the Internet – but the actual software you download to purchase tracks often has a music player built-in.

How do I transfer tracks to my portable music player?
Music comes in a few different formats so you’ll need to make sure it’s compatible with your portable music player. iTunes uses an ‘AAC’ file format which only works with iPods, while all other services use ‘WMA’ and ‘MP3’ file formats which will work with most players. Follow the instructions for your specific portable music player but it is usually a case of simply connecting it to your PC and clicking ‘add’ or ‘send’ to transfer the tracks across.

Am I allowed to burn my music onto CD too?
Yes, all of the services allow you to burn tracks onto CD – but for personal use only, so don’t think about setting up shop next to the local music store.

Who did you recommend using again?

Here are links for our top music download service picks…

Napster
HMV Digital
Yahoo! Music
iTunes
CD WOW!
eMusic

With a world of musical tastes catered for on the web, you can get your hands on everything from Abba to ZZ Top without leaving the house, and if a Jason Donovan does ‘sneak’ into your collection no one will ever know!

James Fryer
24 May 2007