Breakdown Industries is running an ongoing series of articles evaluating many of the options for downloading music legally. Each online music store or service that is reviewed here is considered according to a number of relevant criteria. The criteria themselves have been selected to best represent the interests of a reader who is knowledgable about the music itself, has a good ear and good taste, is interested in digital rights, and is looking for a large independent selection.
On sound quality: Not all digital formats sound alike. Even an untrained ear can tell the difference between a 128 kbps MP3 and a 256 kbps MP3. In fact, sonic nuances are lost with all but the best encoding processes. Contrary to what many stores will tell you, a 196 kpbs recording does not sound the same as the original CD. As bandwidth speeds continue to improve and storage space continues to get cheaper, Breakdown recommends using only the best possible settings on your encoder -- 320 kbps High Quality VBR. Though the difference in size is negligible, the difference to your ears is not.
On fair use rights: Copyright law contains Fair Use guidelines that guarantee individuals the right to make copies of media for their own personal use. This includes making backup copies on CD or in digital format. However, in order to placate the Big 5 Record Labels, many online music retailers are imposing restrictive Digital Rights Management schemes that limit the buyer's ability to make copies, play the files on portable audio devices, or burn CDs. Many of these schemes go far beyond preventing the unauthorized sharing of music and restrict the user's rights more than is allowed under Fair Use guidelines.
On operating systems: The people that run Breakdown predominantly use operating systems other than those made by Microsoft. While according to the November Google Zeitgiest 94% of Internet users access the Internet using some form of Windows OS, a full 35% of Breakdown's readers (not counting the staff) use either Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, or Linux. Due to its relevance to Breakdown's readers, compatability with non-Windows operating systems is factored into the overall score.
On independent selection: Since online record stores need to negotiate with each label individually to carry their music, most stores are focusing first on major labels, where they can begin carry the larger catalogs at once. Since Breakdown is dedicated to supporting the independent labels, each review checks for the availability of a sampling of popular independent albums and labels:
Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlanticism (Barsuk) [buy]
The Shins, Oh, Inverted World (Sub Pop) [buy]
New Pornographers, Electric Version (Matador Records) [buy]
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Hearts of Oak (Lookout Records) [buy]
Elliot Smith, Either/Or, (Kill Rock Stars) [buy]
Atmosphere, Seven's Travels (Epitaph) [buy]
Unsane, Occupational Hazard (Relapse) [buy]
Thievery Corporation, The Richest Man In Babylon (Esl Music) [buy]
Skip James, The Complete Early Recordings of Skip James (Yazoo) [buy]
Deltron 3030, Deltron 3030 (Tommy Boy) [buy]
Disclaimer: If it isn't already obvious, Breakdown Industries does not condone the trading of copyrighted materials without the explicit permission of the artist. The artists that make the recordings and write the songs are having a hard enough time as it is without people copying their work without their permission. And since the major labels and multi-national conglomerates have proven ineffective at promoting and supporting new artists, Breakdown urges consumers to purchase music released on independent and alternative labels instead.
Read the EMusic Review.
Read the Audio Lunchbox Review.
Read the Bleep Review.
Read the Wal-Mart Online Music Store Review.
Read the Napster 2.0 Review.
Read the Apple iTunes Music Store Review.