1 Click To Download Legal Music
iTunes Music Store
iTunes is a different kind of web service. Shoppers download a large but very useful software application in order to access the store. That makes iTunes one of a kind now that Sidestep has changed its tune and no longer requires software or access.
iTunes is also unique in that it sells only one thing — legal copies of digital music and video.
The store is always available to shoppers when the iTunes application, perhaps the best music playing software for Windows, is running. iTunes allows shoppers to purchase music by the song for 99 cents or sometimes by the album for a slight discount. There are even songs with no copying restrictions for slightly more.
Why iTunes Is Successful
The iPod drove every bit of iTunes’ growth. Had there been no iPod, Apple never would have invested the necessary time and money to build this gorgeous merger of web-enabled software. But iPods sell by the millions around the world, and iTunes software makes it easy for average users to put their pre-purchased CDs in a library on their hard drive.
iTunes sold nearly 200 million songs in its first year operation. Recording artists like the service, music companies like the service and Apple has watched its popularity fuel a huge demand for the iPod — the place where real profit margins exist.
Consumers can use iTunes without purchasing an iPod, but will need some knowledge of how music is digitally encoded in different formats to easily transfer your purchases. What you can’t do is access the store without a 20 megabyte download.
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
iTunes searching includes artist, song or album name. You can also look at Billboard Hot 100 charts dating back to 1946. Want to cut a mix of the top 10 songs the year you were born or married? Chances are good that most of the songs will be available on iTunes. Click on the “Buy Song” icon, confirm the purchase (if you have that setting toggled on) and the music is transferred to your hard drive as fast as your Internet connection allows.
The selection is the best of any of the legal music services I have tried although there are still some holes in the library, but they grow less noticeable with each year. It was iTunes that brought The Beatles, notorious digital holdouts, to the Internet for legal downloads.
Shoppers can listen to 30 second snippets of any song in the iTunes library. Like the song? Click the button and its yours. Songs are arranged by artist, but there also celebrity mixes to choose from, various best seller lists and the granddaddy of them all — the current playlist from multiple radio stations in dozens of cities.
Want to hear what is hot on the college radio station in Columbia, Missouri? Simply select “Radio Charts”, scroll to Columbia (or New Orleans, San Francisco, New York or anywhere in between) and choose a station. You can sample the entire playlist for that station, garnering some surprises in the process. iTunes is truly the first step towards national radio coverage. And yes, there are web only streams you can select using the iTunes software.
Buying iTunes Music Is Easy
iTunes maintains a separate folder for music you’ve purchased so you can see what was in your collection and what you’ve purchased from the service.
After each session’s purchases, a receipt is emailed that details the title of each song, the price and the total. The email urges shoppers to keep the receipt for their records, but I usually delete mine after ensuring that the entire song is downloaded and plays. I haven’t had occasion to use customer service for a bad download, but understand that Apple is responsive in such cases.
And like any good marketer, the iTunes receipt also includes graphic hyperlinks to music that is purportedly purchased by others who purchased the same things you did. This type of recommendation is nothing new — Amazon and Netflix use it to great advantage, but it is a nice feature.
The Bottom Line, Clicks and All
You have to downloaded frequently updated software, but that effort is worthwhile. Apple uses its own method of storing music so purchases are not saved in a MP3 format. Standard restrictions apply to your purchase, but only one digital leash is placed on the music. If you try to burn the same mix of songs (that is, the same songs in the same order) too many times, you’ll prompt a warning. Eventually the software will not let you make any more copies unless you’ve paid for a rights-free copy.
But the Apple empire is forgiving once it gets you. You see, I’ve also digitized hundreds of my CDs using the iTunes software and now own multiple iPods to play my music. I can slightly alter a mix and begin burning again. Once I find out what they’re listening to in Appleton, Wisconsin, that is.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. You must download software to use the iTunes store.
2. Music is not downloaded in a MP3 format.
3. The selection is very good.
4. Search works well and you can research music by radio station or chart
5. Songs are 99 cents each and a receipt is emailed to you at the end of each session.
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