2008 Woodie Awards
Legal download options combat temptation
Commentary
By Joey Flis
Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: Editorial
With the crackdown on illegal file sharing increasing in recent years, many wonder what the best legal options are for downloading music.
I have done some research looking into this question, but it really depends on what the user would prefer.
One thing is for certain though-it is in everyone's best interest to "go legal."
According to the Associated Press, as of last Friday, Japanese Internet service providers have agreed to cut off Internet connections for people that have been caught illegally sharing files. They will issue a warning after the first offense, but then will completely cut off access on IPs if the users are caught again. Could other countries follow suit?
The United States has not gone to measures that drastic, but the Recording Industry Association of America has been popping people caught with hefty fines of thousands of dollars. There are also some hackers taking things into their own hands by dispersing horrible computer viruses through peer-to-peer sharing sites.
With the emergence of the iPod and other MP3 players, the MP3 format has become the music format of choice for most. Here are the breakdowns of some legal downloading sites.
Napster and Rhapsody offer unlimited downloads for a subscription fee. This is all well and good, but the problem with these two is that they use Digital Rights Management, or DRM, which means the songs are never really yours, and you lose access to them if you stop paying the subscription fee.
Also, you can't get the songs off of your computer unless you pay extra. I did a free trial of Napster, and decided not to continue with the service because I wanted full control of my MP3s. Plus, Napster doesn't work on Macs, though Rhapsody does.
Then you have the juggernaut of the music-downloading world, iTunes. They are very convenient if you have an iPod, which is the most popular MP3 player. The huge catalog of music and the familiarity of customers with the format is also a plus. The main drawback, however, is that iTunes downloads, at 99 cents per song, are pricier than some of the other options.
I have done some research looking into this question, but it really depends on what the user would prefer.
One thing is for certain though-it is in everyone's best interest to "go legal."
According to the Associated Press, as of last Friday, Japanese Internet service providers have agreed to cut off Internet connections for people that have been caught illegally sharing files. They will issue a warning after the first offense, but then will completely cut off access on IPs if the users are caught again. Could other countries follow suit?
The United States has not gone to measures that drastic, but the Recording Industry Association of America has been popping people caught with hefty fines of thousands of dollars. There are also some hackers taking things into their own hands by dispersing horrible computer viruses through peer-to-peer sharing sites.
With the emergence of the iPod and other MP3 players, the MP3 format has become the music format of choice for most. Here are the breakdowns of some legal downloading sites.
Napster and Rhapsody offer unlimited downloads for a subscription fee. This is all well and good, but the problem with these two is that they use Digital Rights Management, or DRM, which means the songs are never really yours, and you lose access to them if you stop paying the subscription fee.
Also, you can't get the songs off of your computer unless you pay extra. I did a free trial of Napster, and decided not to continue with the service because I wanted full control of my MP3s. Plus, Napster doesn't work on Macs, though Rhapsody does.
Then you have the juggernaut of the music-downloading world, iTunes. They are very convenient if you have an iPod, which is the most popular MP3 player. The huge catalog of music and the familiarity of customers with the format is also a plus. The main drawback, however, is that iTunes downloads, at 99 cents per song, are pricier than some of the other options.
