Catshanghai

It is wrong or at least illegal to steal music, but high prices and unfair copy protection make piracy a rational choice for many Internet users who steal songs from online file sharing services. The solution is to offer legitimate low cost alternatives without DRM. AllofMP3 offers low cost downloads, but the artists do not get any revenue from this service and the Russian government need to close it down as a condition to joining the WTO. (See this story)

I have been using Audio Lunchbox very happily for the last few months. $10 a month gets you upto 40 MP3 song downloads a month. I have downloaded some excellent music from this service including Easy All Stars and The Clogs. The trouble with Audio Lunchbox is that their catalogue is quite narrow and obscure. I want to download new experimental artists that are impossible to find in Shanghai, but I quite like to know what I am buying into care of a recommendation from Pitchfork. Yesterday, I cancelled my subscription to Audio Lunchbox to join E-music. E-music is a little more expensive than Audio Lunchbox, but it has two million tracks, mainly from an Indie and alternative back catalogue. It has enough music to keep me busy for the next few years and the music has no DRM. I downloaded a Rose Kemp album that I could not find in London’s underground music shops. (Look out for a review) Emusic has a trial service where you get 25 free tracks for your trouble, but first you must give them your credit card number. You can always cancel later if you decide not to subscribe. I tried Emusic before, but the Windows download manager did not work. This is not a problem anymore, because I am now using Ubuntu Linux and I found a Java program that works very well.

E-music Pricing Options:

E-music Basic - 30 downloads a month for $9.99

E-music Plus - 50 downloads a month for $14.99

E-music Premium - 75 downloads a month for $19.99

You save 20 percent if you subscribe for a year.

Links:
emusic.com,
audiolunchbox.com,
pitchforkmedia.com